The U.S. Department of Agriculture is celebrating its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service successes to safeguard the country’s agriculture and natural resources in 2021.
Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffit said the inspection service agency was instrumental in providing healthier food for Americans in a Jan. 21 news release.
“APHIS has worked hard this last year to address vulnerabilities in our food system and create more, better and fairer markets for producers and consumers alike,” said Moffit. “We’re focused on ensuring all Americans have consistent access to the safe, nutritious, affordable food we all need to be healthy.”
According to the release, USDA channeled $300 million from the American Rescue Plan Act over several years to examine SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, in animals and to cultivate an initial warning system that could thwart future pandemics.
The USDA also reported APHIS has created a series of protections to avoid African Swine Fever from entering the country, along with asking states and the industry to craft protocol should there ever be an outbreak.
“Early detection is the key to controlling, containing, and eliminating ASF,” the USDA said. “While ASF has never been found in the United States and does not threaten public health, an introduction would devastate U.S. pork producers, their communities and the economy.”
Other accomplishments included trade preservation efforts, animal surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic, clarifying rules for online buying and selling of seeds and plants from other countries, implementing biotechnology regulations, animal welfare enforcement and assisting with the Vaccinate America Campaign.
