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The second outbreak of African swine fever this year has been recorded in Lithuania

2020 m. July 29 d.

The State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) informs that, in the situation when new cases of African swine fever (ASF) in the wildlife are still recorded from time to time, Telšiai country faces the highest probability for the introduction of this virus into farm holdings this year, and residents of Plungė district who are rearing pigs have to be particularly alert. The second ASF outbreak this year has been recorded in Plungė district, in a small farm where 5 pigs were fattened for own purposes. Suspicions of the disease arose when one of the pigs died all of a sudden in the farm holding. Blood samples were taken from all the pigs, organ samples were taken from the dead pig, and the samples were sent to the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute where ASF was diagnosed for all the pigs. Yesterday, two more pigs died. The outbreak eradication operations are carried at the farm holding today. A 3 km protection zone and a 10 km surveillance zone have been demarcated around the infected farm holding covering areas of Plungė and Skuodas districts. A census of pig keepers and pigs kept will be carried out in those areas to find out if the ASF has not spread outside the boundaries of the farm holding. SFVS specialists started an investigation to determine how the ASF virus could have been introduced into the farm holding. According to surveillance data of a few years, the major source of the introduction of the ASF virus into pig keeping places is contaminated environment and the circulation of the ASF virus in wild boar. The latest ASF cases in dead wild boar in Plungė district were recorded on 23 July. Before that, the virus was also confirmed for a hunted wild boar on 18 June. Specialists engaged in investigations observe quite intensive circulation of this virus in Samogitia, in particular in areas of Plungė district, and the numbers of dead wild boar can be substantially higher, however, the search for dead wild boar in those areas is not very active, moreover, the spotting of dead animals in the summer season becomes complicated because of high grass, etc. And still the highest risk in infected areas is posed by human activity, i. e. visiting forests located in infected areas, gathering mushrooms, berries, and, in particular, ignoring biosafety requirements in farm holdings. Therefore, it is very likely that with the intensive circulation of the virus in the wildlife and with pig keepers failing to duly observe biosafety requirements, the infection can be transmitted from the wildlife to non-commercial pig keeping holdings. In Plungė district alone, there are more than 170 pig rearing farm holdings with more than 500 pigs kept. The SFVS warns that persons keeping pigs have to avoid visiting forests infected with ASF. If a dead wild boar is found the carrion must not be touched to preclude the increase in the spread of the virus. In case of an ASF risk, animals must be protected against any potential contact with persons from outside, other animals; pigs must not be fed with heat untreated feed or kitchen swill. Footwear, working clothes have to be changed before going to an animal house, only items and supplies dedicated for feeding and attending pigs must be used. Personal hygiene must be observed and hands must be washed regularly. Each pig keeper has to apply maximum efforts to preclude the introduction of the virus into his farm holding as, in case of detection of ASF, due to different restrictions to be applied, substantial losses are incurred not only by him but also by other pig rearing farm holdings in the surrounding areas as well as slaughterhouses or meat processing plants. According to specialists’ opinion, in view of cases recorded in the wildlife, there is also a high risk of the occurrence of ASF in pig keeping holdings in Kaunas, Telšiai, Švenčionys, Utena, Molėtai and Vilnius districts. In the neighboring countries, the ASF situation is not favorable as well. In Latvia, there have been 3 outbreaks recorded this year with more than 11.5 thousand of pigs destroyed, while in Poland there were as many as 15 outbreaks with nearly 40 thousand pigs destroyed. In case any changes in the behavior of pigs kept are noticed or if they die, you must immediately contact veterinary specialists or report the SFVS on the 24-hour free phone line 8 800 40 403.

The export of Lithuanian food products of animal origin has increased by 14% this year

2020 m. May 28 d.

According to the data of the State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS), despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, Lithuanian producers exported 14% more of animal-origin production during the four months of this year than in the same period in 2019. This year, Lithuania has already exported more than 76 thousand tonnes of meat, milk, fish, eggs and their products. The export of Lithuanian beef, highly valued in Europe and around the world, has increased by 3% compared to the same period last year. Most of the beef was exported to Norway (446 tonnes) and Ukraine (250 tonnes). By harmonising the requirements of the veterinary certificate for beef export to China, 6 consignments of beef products have already been successfully exported to this huge market this year, i.e. more than 150 tonnes. "We should be glad that Lithuanian business, even during the pandemic, was able to adapt to the exceptional situation, maintain and actually increase the export volumes. Each consignment of foodstuffs exported to another country must be inspected in accordance with the requirements of international, European Union and importing country legislation, also the samples must be taken for the laboratory testing. Therefore, we organised the activities of our Service and the work of inspectors in such a way that the services necessary for business would be provided as quickly and efficiently as possible, even during the quarantine period, and the issue of certificates for the exported products would not be disrupted”, – commented Darius Remeika, the Director of the SFVS. This year, the export growth of all meat products is observed – it has increased by 23% compared to January-April 2019. The growth of export was mostly due to the production of 98 tonnes exported to Kyrgyzstan as well as the doubled export of meat products to Japan (72.4 tonnes) and the United States of America (71.3 tonnes). During the first four months, Lithuanian producers exported more than 35 thousand tonnes of dairy products. It is even 27% more than during the same period in 2019. In this group of Lithuanian products, the export volumes of cream, butter, cheese, milk whey, milk powder, etc. increased the most. Mainly, dairy products were exported from Lithuania to Kazakhstan (almost 4 thousand tonnes), the USA (2 thousand tonnes), Algeria (2 thousand tonnes), Malaysia (almost 3 thousand tonnes), Saudi Arabia (3.6 thousand tonnes), Vietnam (1.6 thousand tonnes) and other countries. This year, the producers of fish products also actively exported their production – the export of fish and fish products has increased by 11%. In four months, there were exported more than 37 thousand tonnes of fish and fish products, while in 2019 – 33.7 thousand tonnes. Ukraine and Moldova remain the main export markets.

Specialists advise to be careful when considering advertising claims for food supplements to avoid misleading

2020 m. April 24 d.

Under the ongoing quarantine conditions, violations of advertising food supplements online have been recorded by the State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS). In the past time, advertising of food supplements, different herbal teas or other products with the declaration of an impact of their ingredients on the human immune system, ability to cure infections caused by COVID-19 or its prevention has been observed. Specialists of the SFVS emphasise that food supplements are classified as food products, they cannot cure diseases or safeguard against them. Therefore, their labelling, presentation or advertising must not contain any mentioning of healing or preventive qualities of the product, they must not contain any hints that the food supplement has such qualities. To safeguard consumers, eight investigations into this kind of violations are being conducted at the moment by the SFVS, including two cases for which proceedings for the violation of the Law on Advertising have been initiated. Consumers are reminded to be particularly careful in assessing information and claims provided in advertising, such as, for example, in case of a product, which is distributed through social networking and which is called “Nutritional energiser with preventive and healing qualities, intended to be used against cough, pneumonia, flue, bronchitis, cold”. Another example refers to the following functions, which are assigned to a protein: “Protein characterised by multifunctional effects and safeguarding the entire body against aging”. Our recommendation is also that the claims, which have no concrete meaning, such as “balanced for better quality of life”, have to be carefully considered as well. As a result of assessment of food supplements and their ingredients, investigations have been also initiated concerning the following claims: “Can help extract hazardous substances, which are present in intestines, and, along with them, leave the body in a natural way”; “Improves natural antioxidant response of the body, and, in this way, safeguards the body against aging and damage done by the environment”; “The herbal tea has been recommended by a pharmacist for families and individuals for the prevention of the Coronavirus, in case of flue effects, runny nose or cold”, etc. Only notified food supplements with the labelling in compliance with all requirements of legislation can be placed on the market in Lithuania. As many as 371 food supplements have been newly notified this year, while the total number of notified food supplements available on the list is almost 15500. The list of notified food supplements authorised for marketing in Lithuania is available on the web site of the SFVS at www.vet.lt/maisto-papildai. If food supplements you would like to acquire are not included in the above list consumers are not recommended to buy such food supplements as their composition has not been evaluated by specialists.

Vaccination of wild animals against rabies is launched in Lithuania

2020 m. April 21 d.

Today, on 21 April, the State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) is starting the spring vaccination of wild animals against rabies. 505 thousand baits are going to be distributed from aircrafts in the 50-kilometre buffer zone on the border with the Republic of Belarus and Poland. The vaccination is going to be completed by the end on May. With the announcement of quarantine in Lithuania, the work, which was planned for the end of March, had to be postponed for nearly a month. In the words of Adviser to the Animal Health and Welfare Division of the SFVS Kristina Stakytė, the vaccination of wild animals has been carried out in Lithuania systematically for over a decade, therefore, there are practically no more cases of rabies recorded in Lithuania. However, in the neighbouring countries, e. g. in Belarus, rabies is prevalent both among domestic and wild animals, therefore, there is always a risk of infected wild animals coming occasionally to Lithuania. Although the baits to be distributed comply with all the safety standards and do not pose any threat neither to human nor animal health, nevertheless, specialists warn the population not to touch or collect baits if they find them. There is a sharp membrane inside baits, which could cause an injury. In this case, the recommendation is to wash hands and, if necessary, disinfect the wound. A contact like this cannot bear any risk for the person to get infected with rabies as the vaccine is absolutely safe and tested. If a pet animal found the bait and ate it the recommendation is to observe its health condition for a few days and consult a veterinarian. Those baits are not hazardous to pet animals. According to specialists, the vaccination of pets and wild animals is the only effective way of fighting rabies. To safeguard themselves, people also have to avoid direct contacts with stray or wild animals. All owners of dogs, cats or ferrets must vaccinate their pets against rabies at least once per 12 months or, in case of a long-acting vaccine, in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction. The veterinarian who performed the vaccination has to record the date and the duration period for the vaccine into the vaccination certificate or pet pasport. Last year, 314 samples were tested in Lithuania in case of a suspicion of rabies. Most of them were taken from wild animals (81 foxes and 64 racoons accordingly). Furthermore, 20 dogs and 20 cats were tested. All the testing results were negative. The latest case of rabies was detected for a dead fox on the border with Belarus in 2018. According to information published by the World Organisation for Animal Health, over 55 thousand cases of human deaths from rabies are recorded worldwide each year – mostly in the continents of Asia and Africa. The latest case of death in Lithuania was recorded in 2007 where a man of 42 was bitten by a dog while travelling in Italy.

The killing of pigs was completed in the ASF outbreak of Molėtai district during the weekend: over 8.5 thousand pigs were destroyed

2020 m. April 20 d.

The specialists of the State Food and Veterinary Service (SFVS) carried out the eradication of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak, confirmed in a pig farm of Molėtai district (Čiulėnai sub-district), even during the weekend. In total, 8555 pigs were killed in the pig farm belonging to the company UAB „Takažolė“ (Toliejai village, Molėtai district). The processes of animal killing are controlled by the official veterinarians. Most of the carcasses have already been taken to the utilisation plant for safe disposal, and the rest is planned to be taken today. In the coming days, the disinfection of the farm and vehicles will be performed in the farm territory. All the transport means that have been used for the eradication of the ASF outbreak are disinfected. After the disinfection, they will all be additionally washed, cleaned and disinfected before leaving the farm. The preparations are also being made for the destruction of feed, medicines and other hazardous waste, work boots, overalls, gloves, etc. "We are devoting all our forces to the elimination of the first ASF outbreak in a pig farm of our country this year. The formed groups of specialists are maximally equipped with the necessary protection measures for the COVID-19 and work without counting the efforts and working hours. We aim to eradicate the outbreak of ASF as soon as possible and eliminate the threat of the virus spreading. The experts conducting the epizootic investigation also analyse the data from the selected samples and seek to determine the timing, causes, and routes of the ASF virus entry into the farm. In accrodance with the preliminary data, the disease on the farm was detected in the early stage”, – commented Darius Remeika, the Director of the SFVS.

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2015 y. March 06 d.

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State food and veterinary service
State budgetary institution The Register of Legal Entities
code: 188601279

Address: Siesikų str. 19,
07170 Vilnius Lithuania
Tel. +370 5 240 4361
E-mail: info@vmvt.lt

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♦ List of Border Control Posts (BCPs)

♦ Control Points (CPs) other than BCPs designated for official controls on certain food and feed of non-animal

Register of Veterinary Approved Animal Food Handling Entities

List of ABP Objects and Entities subject to veterinary supervision

Approved warehouses meeting the requirements of Article 23 (2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2124

COMMISSION DECISION of 30 April 2008 implementing Council Directive 2006/88/EC as regards an Internet-based information page to make information on aquaculture production businesses and authorised processing establishments available by electronic means

Approved and registered establishments under veterinary supervision

List of aquaculture establishments (Directive 2006/88/EC and Regulation (EC) No 708/2007)

LIST OF ANIMAL FOOD BUSINESS OPERATORS APPROVED BY ARTICLE 12 OF COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION 2014/709/EU

List of establishments approved in accordance with Section A of Chapter V of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001

Published:
2020-08-06

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