USPOULTRY accepting research pre-proposals

The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative is requesting pre-proposals on the rapid disposal of poultry carcasses following depopulation. Mass depopulation and disposal of large caged layer facilities present daunting challenges for both euthanasia and disposal. The recent avian influenza outbreak has shown that current disposal methods may be inadequate for rapid depopulation and disposal on large farms. Innovative methods are needed for rapid, safe disposal of the carcasses and manure. Opportunities may exist to improve currently used disposal methods.

The area of focus for the research will include the development of alternative methods or improvement of existing methods to rapidly, safely dispose of large numbers of layer carcasses and manure with an emphasis on validating that the disposal method inactivates the avian influenza virus and evaluating the potential of spread of the avian influenza virus during carcass and manure disposal process.

The deadline for pre-proposal submission is Nov. 6. For more information and complete instructions, click here.

APHIS seeks input on poultry carcass disposal documents

In preparation for another potential avian influenza outbreak in the fall, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is seeking public comments on a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for mass carcass management. APHIS is also publishing an environmental assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Livestock carcasses in large numbers can present a potential environmental risk. The agency must effectively manage carcasses in a mass animal health emergency to reduce potential risks to humans, livestock, and the surrounding environment.
APHIS began work on the draft EIS in 2013, well before the first cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza were discovered in the U.S. in December 2014. This process typically takes two to three years.  APHIS is continuing work on the EIS to assist with future animal disease outbreaks. Work related to the EIS that was done during the winter and spring outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenz was consistent with the draft EIS. 
In the draft EIS, APHIS analyzes the environmental effects associated with various carcass management alternatives that could be implemented during a mass animal health emergency. The findings of this EIS will be used to support mass animal health emergency planning and decision-making.
As part of the EA, APHIS included all operational aspects of avian influenza response including surveillance, detection, establishment of quarantines, depopulation of flocks, cleaning and disinfection, transport of biomass, and disposal of biomass.
The agency evaluated two options – taking no action, which would allow state and local officials to respond to highly pathogenic avian influenza; or responding to future avian influenza outbreaks with federal involvement in collaboration with state and local officials, as was done in the most recent outbreak of 2015 – and selected the second option. The EA determined that following the current procedures mitigated the environmental impacts of the response.
Both the notice of availability for the draft EIS and the EA with the FONSI are expected to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, August 21.  Interested persons are invited to comment on these documents.  The draft EIS will be open for public comment for 60 days, and the EA and FONSI will be available for public comment for 30 days.
Comments regarding these documents may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking portal.

Fecal contamination becomes easier to detect

USDA's ARS - Agricultural Research Service scientists Kurt Lawrence, Bosoon Park, Bob Windham, and Seung-Chul Yoon—all in the Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit in Athens, Georgia—have made two improvements to a hyperspectral imaging system used to scan the surface of poultry carcasses for contaminants. They have refined the system so that it can detect even tiny amounts of fecal contamination, which can vary significantly depending on where in the digestive tract it originated. They have also developed and implemented a new image-processing method to identify and remove false-positive readings.
To facilitate the transfer of their system, a prototype on-line multispectral imaging system was installed and tested in a commercial poultry plant to detect fecal-contaminated carcasses. The system was developed through a research agreement with Stork Gamco, a manufacturer of poultry-processing equipment based in Gainesville, Georgia. Carcasses were imaged after evisceration but before washing, at a rate of 150 birds per minute.
“The system ran for several days with no hardware or software problems, and it demonstrated the feasibility of accurately detecting fecal-contaminated carcasses,” says Lawrence. ... Read the full blog.

Buried poultry might pose risk to farmers

The Korean Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture announced recently that farmers in Korea are set to get better access to clean drinking water from tap water pipelines set up by the government. Fears exist, though, that groundwater might be contaminated by leachate, a liquid that drains from landfills that contain the carcasses of poultry culled during an outbreak of avian influenza in 2003.
Since the 2003 outbreak, poultry at 722 sites across the country were slaughtered and buried in accordance with laws for preventing the spread of contagious diseases among livestock.
Burial sites had to be five meters (16.4 feet) deep, filled with quicklime and covered with vinyl sheeting. According to experts, these sites are prime conditions for the formation of leachate, which would have to be extracted after a designated time of build-up. Without removal, the risk of tears in the vinyl sheeting and leachate contaminating surrounding land and water sources increases. In response, the Korean government assured that it would take steps to address experts' concerns.