USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) requires waste from international flights and ocean-going cruise and cargo ships that potentially contain food or plant materials be collected, held and treated or incinerated. This is done in an effort to safeguard agriculture and natural resources from foreign animal diseases and invasive pests, APHIS said in a release.
On Jan. 3, APHIS is allowing the biosecure facilities that handle regulated garbage to hold it in tightly sealed, leak-proof containers for up to 120 hours. Prior to that, garbage had to be processed to inactivate possible pathogens and pests within 72 hours.
“The facilities handling regulated garbage do so under compliance agreements with and overseen by APHIS or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),” APHIS said in a release. “Under its Plant Protection and Quarantine program, APHIS, along with CBP, this year during routine compliance monitoring checks will revise facilities’ existing compliance agreements to document the new hold time.”
The threat of the deadly African swine fever (ASF) virus to the U.S. increased significantly when ASF made its way over into the Western Hemisphere in 2021. In the past week, Italy, Thailand, Hungary and Latvia confirmed outbreaks of ASF.
Read More About ASF Prevention:
ASF Research in Vietnam Helps U.S. Prepare for Worst
Stop Swill Feeding to Prevent African Swine Fever in the U.S.
