African Swine Fever
We work hard to keep our animals healthy and safe from disease.
Prevention
African Swine Fever
African Swine Fever or ASF is a serious pig disease affecting pig herds in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. The pig disease has never occurred in Canada or the United States. Still, government and industry are working hard to prevent ASF from entering Canada and to ensure that if it ever does occur here, we can contain it rapidly.
The good news: ASF is not a food safety issue and poses no risks to people, other animals or to pets. Consumers can enjoy pork with confidence.
Preventing ASF is important because the disease could have a devastating impact on Canada’s pig herd. ASF is spread through close contact among pigs and can be transmitted through feed ingredients and packaging, and can be carried on hands, clothing, shoes and equipment. People can unintentionally spread ASF by moving from one infected site to another.
At Maple Leaf, we’re proud of the preventative measures we’re taking to prevent ASF and reduce the impact and consequences of an ASF outbreak in Canada. Here’s what we’re doing:
- Strict biosecurity is the best way to keep pigs safe and healthy from a variety of animal diseases, including ASF.
- We control who visits our farms and have strict entry protocols. All visitors are screened to ensure they don’t bring harmful pathogens into the facilities. Visitors are required to shower before entering and wear special clothing and shoes we provide.
- All supplies, equipment, and tools go through a disinfection process to protect the health of our animals.
- We’ve deployed a special system to record all visits to each farm. These “digital fences” provide critical tracing information in the event of an ASF outbreak in mere minutes and help us protect our system from potential exposure to the disease to keep our pigs healthy.
Animal Care Performance Report
We’re documenting our animal care goals and measuring our progress. See how we’re doing in our 2022 Animal Care Performance Report.
Introducing our inaugural
2022 Integrated Report
Our new Integrated Report builds on nearly a decade of sustainability reporting and presents a more holistic view of our Company. We continue to evolve our reporting process every year to meet changes in the reporting and regulatory landscape and growing demands from our stakeholders.