NPPC Cancels World Pork Expo

April 13, 2001

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has canceled the 2001 World Pork Expo. NPPC officials said they don't want to risk a possible outbreak of food-and-mouth disease from the expected 40,000 pork producers, consumers and international visitor from some 60 countries who were expected to attend.

"We have seen tremendous devastation in countries around the world from foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks. The U.S. has been free of foot-and-mouth disease since 1929, and we don't want to take any risk of a possible outbreak potentially spread through the hosting of World Pork Expo, an event attended by pork producers and pork industry leaders from around the world," said Barb Determan, NPPC president.

"Although biosecurity measures to control potential disease situations are not new to World Pork Expo, the NPPC Board of Directors feels it is prudent to take the extraordinary precaution of canceling the event this year," added Determan, an Early, IA, pork producer. "Our next concern is how to communicate all the information available at World Pork Expo to pork producers. We are working on a plan to make sure our producers have easy access to the information and technologies that would have been displayed at this year's event."

As part of the decision to cancel the 2001 World Pork Expo, the NPPC Board of Directors strongly urged members of Congress, USDA officials, pork producers and other livestock organizations to adhere to every possible means to keep FMD out of the United States. NPPC even encouraged pork producers and pork plants to prohibit foreign visitors from touring farms and plants and urged an animal health and biosecurity risk assessment of all shows or expositions that include live animals.