22 March 2024
Who does this notice affect?
Biosecurity industry participants holding an approved arrangement for class 3.2 Imported Pig Meat Processing.
What has changed?
There has been no change to the department’s requirements or underpinning policy, for the management and disposal of imported pig meat and imported pig meat waste.
The purpose of this Import Industry Advice Notice is to provide biosecurity industry participants, who hold a class 3.2 Imported Pig Meat Processing approved arrangement, with:
- clarification of the department’s existing requirements for the treatment and disposal of:
- imported pig meat
- imported pig meat waste.
- confirmation of the existing requirements for the management of imported pig meat waste, generated post-cooking.
1.
The department has made an amendment to the class 3.2 Imported Pig Meat Processing conditions. The amendment has been made to conditions 3.24 and 4.2 only and serves to provide clarification of the department’s requirements for the treatment and disposal of ‘Imported pig meat’ and ‘Imported pig meat waste’.
The amendment involves inclusion of additional detail in the form of an informative ‘Note’ to condition 3.24 and condition 4.2, advising biosecurity industry participants to ensure they are familiar with the definitions of ‘Imported pig meat’ and ‘Imported pig meat waste’, as currently defined in the department’s Approved arrangement glossary.
Biosecurity industry participants must ensure that the Approved arrangements glossary definitions of ‘Imported pig meat’ and ‘Imported pig meat waste’ are considered in conjunction with the class 3.2 Imported pig meat processing conditions.
2.
In specific relation to post-cooked product, waste generated post-cook (including cooked product, associated packaging, consumables) through the processing of imported pig meat, must be disposed of as biosecurity waste or treated in accordance with the specified waste treatment methods and parameters prescribed in the class 3.2 Imported pig Meat processing conditions document.
Further information
The Class 3.2 Imported pig meat processing conditions can be found at: Approved Arrangements for 3.2: Imported pig meat processing - requirements (agriculture.gov.au)
The Approved arrangements glossary can be found at: Approved arrangements glossary
The biosecurity risks associated with imported pig meat are managed through several methods including, but not limited to, cooking. Other measures are also required to reduce the risk associated with the waste generated from this process to an acceptable level, including reducing the amount of, and the potential for, imported pig meat to be exposed to susceptible animals (pigs and other species).
Onshore processing of pig meat produces additional waste that would not otherwise exist if products were processed offshore. When waste is disposed of in bulk as large waste units (as occurs routinely with onshore processing) this increases the likelihood of susceptible animals being exposed to an infectious dose of any disease agents present, in comparison to potential small amounts of waste that may be discarded from households. This requires additional risk management measures focused on waste management, to mitigate the associated biosecurity risk.
As such, additional measures are necessary for this particular waste pathway, with specific measures and controls applying to waste generated pre-cook and waste generated post-cook.