Import of cooked duck meat from Thailand

We have completed a final report for the Import risk review for cooked duck meat from Thailand.

Steps to complete this risk analysis

When we do a risk analysis, we:

  • start the risk analysis by reviewing the science on pests and diseases of concern
  • assess and analyse biosecurity risks
  • develop proposed risk management measures
  • consult the public on the draft report and then review comments
  • publish a final report
  • develop import conditions
  • publish import conditions in our Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON)

Register in BICON to receive an alert when we publish the import conditions.

Learn more about why we carry out risk analyses and our international obligations.

About the final report

We undertook this review of biosecurity requirements in response to a request from Thailand for market access to Australia for cooked duck meat.  It was developed as an extension of the Generic import risk analysis report for chicken meat (2008).

We propose that imports of duck meat be allowed from Thailand. All imports must meet the agreed biosecurity import conditions.

The final report details:

  • disease agents of biosecurity concern
  • risk assessments for the identified disease agents
  • recommended risk management measures.

Risk management measures

In summary, the proposed risk management measures include:

  • The duck meat must have been sourced from domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus and Cairina moschata) that were hatched, raised and slaughtered in Thailand.
  • The meat must be limited to muscle meat and overlying skin and fat.
  • The ducks from which the meat was derived must have passed ante- and post-mortem veterinary inspection under official veterinary supervision.
  • The ducks must have been slaughtered in an abattoir that meets standards at least equivalent to those contained in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 4.2.2 – Primary Production and Processing Standard for Poultry Meat (Australia Only).
  • The ducks must have been slaughtered and processed in an abattoir and processing facility approved by the Veterinary Authority of Thailand.
  • The duck meat must have been cooked in a commercial process to a minimum core temperature of at least 70°C for a minimum of 8.2 minutes (or time/temperature equivalent approved by the department).

These measures reduce animal biosecurity risks to a level consistent with Australia’s appropriate level of protection. 

Download final report

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, December 2020

Document Pages File size
Import risk review for cooked duck meat from Thailand PDF  85 1.3 MB
Import risk review for cooked duck meat from Thailand DOCX  85 1.5 MB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Stakeholder consultation

We released a draft report in July 2019 seeking comments on:

  • our proposed risk management measures
  • the technical content of our draft report.

Based on the feedback received, we released a second version in October 2020 which included a new disease chapter on infectious bursal disease virus, an expanded risk assessment for duck virus hepatitis type 1, and several smaller revisions.

We received a total of 11 submissions. You can view a summary of our responses to these submissions.

Download draft report and summary of responses

Available until December 2021

Document Pages File size
Importation of cooked duck meat from Thailand – draft report v2 PDF  72 1.9 MB
Importation of cooked duck meat from Thailand – draft report v2 DOCX  72 1.5 MB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Responses to stakeholder submissions

Responses to stakeholder submissions for the Importation of cooked duck meat from Thailand – Draft report.

The department received nine submissions from stakeholders on the Importation of cooked duck meat from Thailand – Draft report following its release for comment on 17 July 2019 (BAs 2019-A05 and 2019-A08).

The issues identified in each submission are included in the following table together with a response on how the issue was considered.

Australian Chicken Meat Federation (Vivien Kite – Executive Director)

Issue

(comments paraphrased).

  1. Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV) serotype 1: Risk assessment required – references supplied.

Response

  1. Accepted – IBDV risk assessment chapter has been written and includes new references.
Australian Duck Meat Association (Greg Parkinson – CEO)

Issue

(comments paraphrased).

  1. The risks of infection of commercial Pekin ducks with IBDV and Waterfowl Parvovirus seems low, but still scientifically uncertain, as described in the Australian and New Zealand import risk assessments. Given the imperfect scientific knowledge and the somewhat arbitrary nature of the cooking regime, the ADMA would like the Australian government to err on the side of higher risk management and create as larger barrier as possible to the entry of the two thermal stable viruses described.
     
  2. The ADMA also suggests, most importantly, that thorough and independent ongoing surveillance of the source ducks be undertaken for both of the important viral pathogens described (IBDV and Waterfowl Parvoviruses).
     
  3. We also considered the proposal for a “market basket type survey” of the imported products to monitor for the presence of the viral agents that may be capable of withstanding the cooking regime.

Response

1, 2, 3. Partially accepted – IBDV chapter has been written, waterfowl parvovirus additional information from other stakeholders has been considered and reassessed. Evaluation and application of points #2 and point #3 are dependent on whether unrestricted risk meets Australia’s Appropriate Level of Protection (ALOP; as defined in the scope). The review found that the biosecurity risks associated with both these viruses did not exceed Australia’s ALOP and therefore risk management measures were not justified.
Australian Veterinary Poultry Association (Sheridan Alfirevich – President)

Issue

(comments paraphrased).

  1. Additional technical information to consider regarding the risk of waterfowl parvoviruses (Goose parvovirus and Muscovy duck parvovirus) provided.
     
  2. IBDV serotype 1: Based on the available evidence of IBDV infection of ducks, a full risk assessment and further investigation is warranted to confirm that cooked duck meat from Thailand does not pose a significant risk to the Australian chicken meat industry. Or, consideration should be given to whether the cooking protocols
    specified in the chicken meat import risk analysis should also apply to duck meat.

Response  
 

  1. Accepted – Additional information was considered.

     
  2. Accepted – IBDV risk assessment chapter was written.
Department of Health

Issue

The Department of Health notes that this is an extension of the chicken meat import risk analysis (IRA) 2008 and considers that any potential human health risk will be managed under biosecurity measures/import conditions as proposed in the draft report to reduce the animal biosecurity to be acceptably low.

 Response

Noted.

Four submissions were received confidentially or with unknown confidentiality. All comments were considered and resulted in either acceptance and modification of chapters, clarification of wording or scope, or did not warrant changes.

One submission was received that was not related to the scope of the risk review and was therefore not considered.

These submissions resulted in the preparation of a revised draft report.

Responses to stakeholder submissions for the Importation of cooked duck meat from Thailand – Draft v2 report.

The department received two submissions from stakeholders commenting on the Importation of cooked duck meat from Thailand – Draft report v2 released for comment on 20 October 2020 (BA 2020-A06).

One of the stakeholders provided comments confidentially. These comments have been addressed with the stakeholder directly. No changes to the review resulted. 

The confidentiality of the other stakeholder submission is unknown. The stakeholder was supportive of the report recommendations and no changes to the review resulted.

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Contact us

For more information about this review email Animal Biosecurity.

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