Chapter 9 - Emergency Situations

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9.8 Generic Policy for the Movement of Poultry and Poultry Products Processed in a Federally Registered Establishment Within the Confines of an Identified Area: Consequence of an Outbreak of Notifiable Avian Influenza (NAI) as Defined by the World Organization for Animal Health (e.g., H5/H7)

9.8.1 Background

As a consequence of the diagnosis of Notifiable Avian Influenza (NAI) in any region of Canada, the disease control measures that will be implemented will impact the movement of poultry and poultry products produced in the affected region.

Various trading partners will impose restrictions on exports of Canadian poultry products and more specifically from any region in which a diagnosis of NAI has occurred.

Registered processing establishments within such a region will be allowed to continue to operate according to an established protocol that meets Animal Health, Meat Hygiene and Egg Program requirements to segregate and control the movement of poultry and poultry products, as well as trading partners' requirements.

For information on equipment and supplies required to be on hand at poultry abattoirs please refer to Annex B.

9.8.2 Diagnosis of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus in Domestic Poultry

• An Infected Region is established around the infected premises. The outer limit of the region will be a minimum of 3 km from the infected place. The maximum distance is based on density and proximity of other poultry operations and natural environmental features such as roads or rivers. All premises within that region will be quarantined and movement of all flocks and products within the 3 km region will be affected.
• A Restricted Region beyond the Infected Region is established that extends approximately 7 km around from the Infected Region. The outer limit of this region will be approximately 10 km from the infected premises. The exact distance will be determined by density and proximity of other poultry and natural environmental features such as roads, mountains, rivers, etc.
• A Control Area (CA), established by the Minister, is a large, defined geographical area that encompasses any and all Infected and Restricted Regions surrounded by a Security Region.
• All commercial birds and products still on farm (including eggs) within one (1) km of the infected premise will be ordered destroyed on-site. Samples of live birds will be submitted from those flocks to an approved laboratory for diagnostic testing. Commercial birds are defined as poultry raised under the Canadian supply manage system (quota) or raised for the purpose of selling their products or by-products for financial gain outside the quota system. Poultry raised on a premise with 300 or more domestic birds, even if there is no commercial activity, will be considered as commercial when it comes to disease control activities. Non-commercial poultry includes poultry either kept as pets, including show birds and rare breeds, and poultry raised only for the owner's own consumption or use.
• Restrictions on the remaining flocks in the three (3) km Infected Region may be modified after obtaining a negative result to a statistically valid sampling from poultry on each premise, 21 days after the detection of the virus in the infected premises.
• Live birds will not be allowed to move out of the CA.
• Once negative testing is confirmed, the healthy birds and/or eggs from healthy birds (with supportive negative tests for Avian Influenza) from the remainder of the flocks in the three (3) km region will be allowed, under CFIA issued general permits for flocks in the Security Region and specific permits for flocks with supportive negative tests in the Restricted Region, to proceed to slaughter and/or egg grading stations and/or processed egg plants and/or hatcheries within the CA.
• Healthy birds and/or eggs from healthy birds from within the Control Area (excluding the Infected Region) will be allowed, under CFIA issued general permit for flocks in the Security Region and specific permits for flocks with supportive negative tests in the Restricted Region, to proceed to slaughter and/or egg grading stations and/or processed egg plants and/or hatcheries within the Control Area.
• Live birds and/or eggs from outside the CA will be allowed, under CFIA issued general permits, to move into the CA and proceed to slaughter and/or egg grading stations and/or processed egg plants and/or hatcheries within the CA and/or to a production barn, the birds assume the status of the Region and are subjected to all testing requirements of the region for further movement of birds/product.
• Healthy live birds and/or egg products from healthy birds from flocks in the Restricted Region require supportive negative testing and specific permits to be allowed to be transported to slaughter facilities within the Security Region. If approved, they will be considered safe for human consumption as per Health Canada guidelines.
• Healthy live birds and/or eggs from healthy birds from flocks in the Security Region will be processed and inspected within the Security Region through normal procedures. If approved, they will be considered safe for human consumption as per Health Canada guidelines. A CFIA issued general permit is required to move the poultry products out of the CA.
• General Permits are issued from CFIA Headquarters, and give overall permission to move specific products into, within and out of the CA and specific birds within the CA. For instance a general permit will be required for the movement of slaughter birds within the Security Region to a slaughter plant within the Security Region. Also a general permit will be issued to allow poultry products produced within the Security Region to be shipped to registered establishments and retail outside of the Control Area. The general permit does not accompany each shipment but should be on file in the producing and/or storage registered establishment within the Control Area.
• Export of poultry meat products and/or eggs from birds originating from a CA (including fully cooked and/or pasteurized eggs) or processed in the CA is at the commercial risk of the exporter.
• Meat products from healthy birds and/or eggs from birds originating from a CA can be shipped and allowed entry into other registered abattoirs or processing establishments within Canada (under CFIA general permits) provided the identity and origin of fresh/frozen poultry product and/or eggs is maintained throughout the process and the product is segregated to ensure that poultry products originating from this plant meet the requirements of importing countries. See export market access below in section 9.8.4.
• Meat products processed prior to the identification of HPNAI from birds originating from flocks within the potential Control Area either in an abattoir or within a storage can be shipped and allowed entry into other registered abattoirs or processing establishments (under CFIA general permits) provided the identity and origin of fresh/frozen poultry product and/or eggs is maintained and there is segregation of this product (i.e. can be distinguished from other Canadian products) throughout the process to ensure that poultry products originating from these products meet the requirements of importing countries. (See export market access and marking requirements in sections 9.8.4 and 9.8.5 and an example of the identification mark in Annex A)

9.8.3 Diagnosis of Low Pathogenicity H5/H7 Avian Influenza Virus in Domestic Poultry

• Infected premises will be placed under quarantine and depopulated on-site.
• An Infected Region may be or may not be established around infected premises depending on the epidemiological circumstances of the Avian Influenza outbreak. The size of the area considered potentially infected will vary from 1 km to 3 km, and will be determined by Animal Health. All commercial poultry premises within the area identified by Animal Health will be placed under quarantine. All premises linked epidemiologically to an infected premise will also be placed under quarantine.
• There would not be a CA declared by the Minister unless there is evidence that the disease infection is wide spread.
• Healthy birds and/or eggs (with supportive negative tests) within the Infected Region will be allowed, under CFIA licenses, to proceed to processing plants, egg grading stations, processed egg plants or hatcheries inside or outside the Infected Region.

9.8.4 Export Market Access

The federally registered establishments wishing to export must meet export requirements based on the prevailing import requirements set by the importing countries. In addition to previous statements in section 9.8 see the items below:

• Importing countries may change their requirements at any time. It is the responsibility of the exporter to ensure the importing country will accept the product. If a country has officially imposed restrictions, no export will be allowed even at commercial risk. Shipments during the initial days of the outbreak may be in jeopardy if the country subsequently imposes restrictions. Unless otherwise specified product produced before the diagnosis of highly pathogenic AI and or H5/H7 is no longer eligible for export.
• If an exporting establishment buys fresh/frozen poultry products originating from a CA (HP) or quarantined premises (LP) these products must be identifiable at all times (i.e. can be distinguished from other Canadian products, see marking requirements below and example in Annex A) to assure traceability so that importing countries' requirements can be met where restrictions apply. In order to meet conditions to permit export certification of poultry products originating only from outside an identified region/area, the operator of the manufacturing establishment must maintain a list of all incoming products (including the origin and slaughter date/ processing of the poultry products, and the origin and production dates of the eggs or processed egg). They must also have written and implemented (as required) segregation procedures for poultry products originating from a CA (HP) or quarantined premises (LP) to the satisfaction of the CFIA Veterinarian in Charge (or signing officer) and/or Inspector in Charge. The establishment segregation program shall detail how incoming birds or implicated poultry products from the implicated area or quarantined farms will be identified and segregated, how segregation will be achieved and maintained through the slaughter, chilling, cutting, packaging, storage, and shipping process steps. The written program shall also detail who will be responsible to monitor this process as it occurs to ensure it is followed and where monitoring will be recorded in an auditable fashion. Deviation procedures are to be developed in the written program and in the event product segregation is not achieved this must be documented. In cases where protocols may lead to discussions of effectiveness of segregation, validation evidence showing complete segregation shall be submitted to the Veterinarian in Charge/Inspector in Charge so that they may make informed decisions on the acceptability of the segregation program. A list of quarantined or implicated premises will be provided confidentially to the Veterinarians in Charge of federal slaughter establishments that may slaughter implicated birds to verify that the birds did move under license and that importing countries' requirements are met. The traceability mechanism must be documented by the operator and be auditable. The segregation program must be applicable to the restrictions of each country to which the establishment exports (either directly or indirectly).
• If a poultry product originating from a CA (HP) or quarantined premise (LP) is processed in a registered processing establishment outside these regions, the origin of the product has to be maintained. Also, it must be appropriately labelled so that the product can be distinguished from other Canadian product (see the sample marking requirement below and example in Annex A)). If this product is shipped to another registered establishment for further processing, the origin of the product has to be maintained to assure traceability and it must be appropriately labelled so that the product can be distinguished from other Canadian product (see marking requirement below and example in Annex A). Raw (non fully cooked) finished products must be identified and stored in a manner to enable poultry products that are from a CA or quarantined premise to be easily distinguished from other Canadian product (see the sample marking requirement below (9.8.5) and example in Annex A).
• Even after importing countries have lifted their ban on Canada or on an identified Canadian region, the aforementioned marking and traceability requirements will continue to apply to all applicable raw poultry products produced during the period the implicated virus may have been active up until the official request for declaration of freedom of AI to the OIE.
• Enhanced export oversight will be provided by the CFIA during the period of time that marking and control of implicated product are in place. CFIA inspectors will provide direct oversight of every export load assembly process in establishments that handle or store implicated product.
• Note regarding trans-docking: federal products moving into or across a non-federally registered dock or movements not under CFIA seal such as a rail car or non sealed truck will not be eligible for export to countries with that restriction if the load moves into or through an area of Canada that is subject to marking requirements.
• Canada is considered free of a disease once OIE requirements have been met.

9.8.5 Marking Requirements

• To facilitate the work of all parties involved, an identification mark has been agreed upon to identify poultry products from a CA or quarantined premises. The identification mark will be applied to raw (non fully cooked) poultry products (see sample in Annex A) and shall appear on the shipping container, in the case of bulk products, or on the main panel of the shipping container in the case of packaged products. The mark shall be applied upon the diagnosis of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza to all poultry products produced within the potential CA or on poultry products from the identified area in the case of the diagnosis of low pathogenic Avian Influenza. Marking shall apply to raw poultry product produced during the period 21 days prior to the determined date of infection of the initial premise until 90 days after cleaning and disinfection procedures have been completed on the last infected premise assuming surveillance monitoring of the poultry industry for AI was also completed. Marking does not apply to poultry product shipped directly out of the federal establishment system into the domestic retail stream. Implicated product located in federal cold storage is subject to segregation and inventory control procedures, but does not require marking unless it is moved to another federal establishment. The size of the mark should be of at least 5 cm (sides of the triangle) and a two letter code identifying the CA shall be at least 2.5 cm tall and appear within the triangle. Stamps or permanently affixed stickers are to be supplied and used by registered cold storages and producing establishments. Operators of establishments where poultry products from a CA or identified area are processed or stored, are responsible for developing marking procedures and using the aforementioned identification mark, to the satisfaction of the CFIA, to ensure that all meat products derived from poultry products from a CA (HP) or identified area (LP) are identified as required.
• As a control measure at a receiving establishment or registered storage, written confirmation from the operator of the supplying establishment or registered storage, endorsed by the resident CFIA inspector to the effect that the marking is conducted in a satisfactory manner, should be retained on file and made available on request. Meat product packaged in store level packaging for retail sale or packaged for the hotels, restaurants and institutions (HRI) trade on the Canadian market do not require the marking described above. Master cartons containing retail or HRI packaged products must be marked.
• Product segregation and inventory tracking requirements apply to implicated product in federal storage.
• Registered establishments within a previously declared CA will apply the mark to all poultry products as described above until both of the following two conditions have been met.
  1. The countries to which the establishment exports has lifted restrictions to the area involved.
  2. Three months have passed after the CA has been rescinded as per OIE guidelines.
• The export verification system shall ensure that product produced in establishments eligible to export to countries with continued restrictions originating from previous diagnosis of Avian Influenza in Canada will not be inadvertently exported after product marking has ceased.

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