Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is expanding its inspections of pig farms to include places that use kitchen waste as feed. The plans, announced on Monday, are the latest in efforts to keep African Swine Fever out of Taiwan.
Agriculture officials sprang into action after a pig carcass carrying African Swine Flu washed up on the shores of northern Taiwan last week. Authorities say pigs at eleven farms within a ten kilometer radius of where the carcass was found tested negative. They say the tests show that the carcass most likely originated in China, not Taiwan.
The EPA is now setting its sights on the 694 pig farms in Taiwan that are authorized to use kitchen waste as pig feed. Those facilities are required to cook the feed at high temperatures before giving it to pigs. The latest round of inspections will ensure that farms are properly sterilizing kitchen waste in order to minimize the risk of infection.