A new educational program, hosted by the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), will focus on biosecurity preparedness in the animal food industry. The program, “Biosecurity: Preparedness Must Be Perpetual,” will take place on Jan. 25, 2023, in conjunction with the 2023 International Production & Processing Expo, taking place Jan. 24-26 in Atlanta, Ga.

“This program will be very valuable to feed manufacturers, because we will walk through what steps should be taken in the event of different animal diseases outbreaks,” said Paul Davis, Ph.D., AFIA’s director of quality, animal food safety and education. “The feed industry can play a big role in animal disease prevention, and with highly pathogenic avian influenza spreading and African swine fever at our back door, it is important that we all come together to make biosecurity a priority.”

Experts will highlight the need for a continued focus on biosecurity for the animal agriculture industry with discussions on preparedness and the latest response plans from federal and state authorities; current standings on African swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza; and areas where feed safety could be compromised.

The program will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon ET on Wednesday, Jan. 25. The cost to register is $65 before Jan. 6, 2023, and $85 after that.

Online registration for IPPE is open. Interested individuals are encouraged to register by Jan. 6 to receive the early-bird rate of $75. Starting Jan. 7, the registration rate is $125.

Sources: IPPE, AFIA, NAMI, USPOULTRY