BRF Reinforces Care with Biosafety in Relation to Swine Fever Outbreak in China

In the face of the outbreak of swine fever in China, BRF initiated an internal campaign to raise awareness among its employees about the importance of the sanitary emptiness - a period that happens in 72 hours any trip abroad. This means that any employee of the company who has traveled outside Brazil, is strictly prohibited from joining the properties held by the company three days after the trip.

Thus, BRF is in line with the good practices defined by the Ministry of Agriculture to prevent the circulation of eventual viruses from outside Brazil, which is free of various diseases and maintains strict policies to maintain this. “Safety and quality are two of BRF’s three non-negotiable commitments and we have therefore initiated an internal campaign to alert our employees to the importance of following our internal travel policy,” explains Neil Peixoto, director of quality, R & D and sustainability.

Employees who return from abroad and are subject to the sanitary void are directed to do home office, since the company offers tools for this purpose. “We maintain operations outside Brazil and our executives often travel internationally, so we need to be on the alert as well as offer the tools and technology that will adequately support the activities of our professionals,” adds Neil.

Although it presents no risk to human health, swine fever is a disease that affects pigs, causing high mortality among these animals, large losses of productivity and barriers in international trade. The swine fever virus is highly resistant to the environment and to the processing, being able to be present in products of swine origin and in the clothes of those who visited the risk areas. In this way, it is mandatory for BRF to fulfill the sanitary void, since it is one of the biosecurity measures to guarantee the health of the whole production chain, in addition to some special care mentioned in the company’s internal campaign, among them:

• If traveling, the recommendation is not to bring pork products to the country;
• Wash clothes, backpacks, purses and shoes used in the trip;
• Do not visit establishments with pigs in affected areas;
• Sanitize cell phone, tablet, notebook and watch with alcohol gel when returning.