News article, 27. October 2021

Drivers, washing halls and SEGES point the way forward

Through a joint effort, more than nine out of ten livestock transport vehicles that cross into the Danish border are now sufficiently clean.

Photo: Danish Agriculture & Food Council

Report from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration is highly satisfactory

In September 2021, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration published their final report on the results from a campaign during which they carried out cleaning inspections of livestock transport.

Compared to a similar report from 2018, the new report shows that the number of vehicles that were insufficiently clean has decreased from 55% to 8%. Adequate vehicle disinfection is one of the reasons why the risk of bringing infectious diseases into Denmark has been minimised, including keeping African Swine Fever out of Denmark.

An impressive effort

Since January 2019, SEGES has had a team permanently stationed at the DANISH-approved washing and disinfection halls in Padborg. This was initiated to create greater understanding between the authorities, drivers and transporters.

"This is a great effort on the part of everyone concerned and I must say that I’m impressed with the results we’ve all achieved,” says Asger Kjær Nielsen, Quality Manager for the DANISH scheme at SEGES. He also points out that commitment from the SEGES team in Padborg and additional third party control from Baltic Control Certification has been a crucial factor in everyone under-standing what the industry requires before livestock transport can be assessed as sufficiently clean.

No place for apathy
Despite the impressive results, Asger Kjær Nielsen is keen to point out that people should not rest on their laurels if infectious diseases are to be kept out of Denmark. "It’s important that we con-tinue along the same lines. Everyone now knows what’s required and only by pulling together can we ensure that Danish pig production is not brought down by a vehicle carrying African Swine Fever.”