FMD | Clover warns of ‘irreversible damage’ from control measures

Clover SA warns that foot-and-mouth disease control measures for dairy products in South Africa could cause irreversible economic damage to the local industry.

By Carien Kruger, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad

“The State has simply got it wrong, hasn’t done its homework, or is just bungling the situation. It’s a shambles,” says Johann Vorster, CEO of Clover SA.

The measures in place to combat foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) are applied inconsistently, are not standardised and exceed internationally accepted standards, he says. This poses a serious threat to the dairy industry – despite the fact that local products meet internationally recognised safety standards and in some cases even exceed them.

Clover says the dairy industry’s position is that export permits and veterinary attestations are being applied inconsistently across provinces, and that South Africa is deferring to importing countries that require local approval first, creating a regulatory deadlock. In effect, export markets are being closed, placing significant strain on the broader dairy value chain.

FMD is a national disaster that requires strong eradication measures, but these measures are being wrongly conflated with dairy-processing standards, Vorster says. As a result, the export of products that are scientifically safe for human consumption is being shut down.

Rules Exceed Global Standards

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has clear, science-based standards for FMD control. These standards confirm that ultra-high-temperature (UHT)-treated dairy products are safe for trade and should not require FMD-related conditions or certification, Clover says.

Non-UHT products are also considered safe when subjected to appropriate heat treatment, with limited certification focused on the status of milk at the point of loading (on farms) and proper separation after processing.

Current measures, however, mean that milk from vaccinated cows is incorrectly treated and classified as infected milk, despite the fact that vaccination is a recognised disease-control tool and not an indicator of infection.

This dramatically expands restrictions without any scientific justification whatsoever. It is a fact that the affected products are scientifically safe for human consumption.

“We have raised the alarm clearly that South Africa’s current approach goes beyond global standards and is imposing unsustainable costs,” Vorster warns. “If unresolved, exports will become unviable, with serious consequences.

“Producers and processors are incurring unsustainable additional costs due to enforced separation of facilities, transport inefficiencies and product losses.”

He warns that if exports become unviable, it would lead to less milk being collected from dairy farmers, job losses across the value chain, loss of export revenue and increased risks to national food security.

Call for Alignment and Clarity

Together with the dairy industry, Clover is calling on authorities urgently to adopt a clear national minimum standard aligned with WOAH guidelines, clearly distinguishing between milk from infected, vaccinated and FMD-free cows, and removing unnecessary restrictions on UHT products.

It is equally urgent to standardise export certification nationally and implement interim relief measures to allow exports to continue while longer-term solutions are finalised.

“Without immediate regulatory alignment and clarity, South Africa risks causing irreversible economic damage to its dairy industry, while gaining no additional disease-control benefit beyond internationally accepted standards,” Vorster says.

Also read: ‘We cannot put entire cattle herd under quarantine’ – SA dairy industry demands FMD policy clarity

Consequences Include Bankruptcy

Dr Mark Chimes, veterinary adviser to Milk SA, says the current FMD rules stipulate that all animals vaccinated against the disease must be placed under quarantine as if they had FMD.

“This means cattle may only be slaughtered at FMD-approved abattoirs and that all milk must be double-pasteurised or treated at ultra-high temperature (UHT).

“Firstly, we do not have enough FMD-approved abattoirs, and secondly, very few milk processors have the facilities to double-pasteurise milk or apply UHT treatment. This sometimes results in cattle and milk having to be transported over long distances to reach such approved facilities.

“Double pasteurisation requires additional effort and expense for milk processors, driving up costs.”

Chimes said several countries to which South Africa exports dairy products have very strict conditions regarding the origin of milk. “In other words, they want to know whether the milk comes from a farm under quarantine. Some countries flatly refuse to accept any dairy from farms under quarantine, as well as from any other dairy farm within a 10km radius of a quarantined farm.

“If we now begin vaccinating on a wide scale, we cannot possibly place every farm where healthy animals are vaccinated under quarantine. That would mean we could export no milk at all. Just imagine if all dairy and livestock farms where vaccination takes place were put under quarantine – the entire country would effectively be under quarantine.

“This has serious food security and economic implications for the country. Various milk processors, abattoirs and farmers would go bankrupt.

“It makes no sense that if animals are healthy and not vaccinated, you may trade without restrictions, but as soon as you vaccinate those same animals to protect them against FMD, you are placed under restrictions. A vaccinated animal is surely a lower risk than an unvaccinated one.

“That is why I have been arguing since last year that the state must change the rule requiring animals that are preventatively vaccinated to be placed under quarantine.

“Milk processors and farmers are concerned because they are in the dark about what the government will do when widespread preventive vaccination begins.”

Guidelines Urgently Needed

The dairy industry urgently needs guidelines so that it can plan. Vaccination starts this week. In the meantime, no one knows what the rules around vaccination and quarantine will be. “That is unacceptable,” Chimes says.

“Healthy animals (and their products, such as meat and milk) that are preventatively vaccinated should not be placed under any restrictions. Full stop.”