The Veterinary Bureau (VB), MOA and the Livestock Health Extension Project (LHESP) organized an animal health risk analysis seminar which was held in Qingdao on March 5-7, 2008.

Dr. Zhang Hong, Deputy Director General VB, MOA; Mr. Huang Weizhong, director of quarantine division of the VB and Dr. Randall Morley, Dr. Gary Halbert from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Dr. Javier Burchard and Dr. Wang Chengfang of LHESP Beijing Program Office (BPO) together with some members of China National Animal Health risk assessment expert Committee attended the workshop. Leadership and experts from six provinces that implemented the DFZ pilot program, totaling more than 80 people attended the meeting.

In his opening speech, Dr. Javier Burchard said that strengthening the capacity-building on animal health risk analysis is paramount to worldwide disease control and prevention. He very impressed by the strong support towards the LHESP demonstrated by the Canadian and Chinese governments.

In response to Dr. Burchard remarks, Mr. Zhang Hong, Deputy director General of the VB ,MMOA delivered an impressing speech., In recent years, he said, animal health risk analysis has become an important tool widely used by the in animal health professions. It has become a foundation in formulating animal health policies and international trade for animal and animal products. He pointed out that China attaches great importance to animal health risk analysis department. In recent years, China took a series of positive and effective measures related to promoting animal health risk analysis.

First is to strengthen the legislative and institutional development. The new version of the "People's Republic of China Law on Animal Epidemic Prevention" made it clear that risk analysis and assessment of animal disease status is a basic procedure of the national animal epidemic prevention system. The Ministry of Agriculture formulated and promulgatedˇ± management procedures of DFZ ˇ°and ˇ°Technical guidance of DFZ managementˇ±, AQSIQ set up the quarantine risk assessment system for import and export of animal and animal products. Secondly, to strengthen institutions of risk assessment, the Ministry of Agriculture set up an inter-sector National Animal Health Risk Assessment committee that composed of experts from all relevant institutions, and its Office in China Animal Health and Epidemiology Centre would take the role of veterinary health assessment on animals and animal products safety. The provincial animal health risk assessment expert Committee has also been set up in the Shandong Province. The third is to launch animal products safety assessment for major animal diseases prevention and control. The Ministry of Agriculture launched the assessment of national area free of BSE and rinderpest as well as FMD, avian flu, classical swine fever and Newcastle disease in five pilot areas including disease surveillance, epidemiology research and laboratory capacity assessment.

Agriculture, quality inspection, business and other relevant government agencies jointly launched the animal health risk assessment for conditional resumption of imports of American beef, hay export to Japan from Songliao Plain and Liaodong Peninsula, and cooked poultry meat export to Europe and the United States. Zhang Hong stressed that the overall strengthening capacity building is an important component in China's animal health risk analysis, particularly with China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and fully participation in the World Animal Health Organization (OIE), strengthening the animal health risk analysis, has become an very important and urgent task to enhance China's ability on major animal diseases control and supervision of animal products safety for international competitiveness of the farming industry. Huang Wei-Zhong, Division Director of Veterinary Bureau of MOA, gave a special district assessment report on China's provisions of DFZ.

Dr. Randall Morley, Dr. Gary Halbert, key speakers and experts invited by LHESP from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on risk analysis gave presentation on Canada import risk analysis policies, animal disease status assessment, risk assessment procedures and methods.

Mr.Feng Xueping from AQSIQ introduced the basis of risk analysis for animal and plant quarantine supervision and related organizations. Mr. Huang Baoxu and Mr. Zhonglun from China Animal Health and Epidemiology Centre also presented topics based on their studies and working experience.

Mr. Ma Hongchao, deputy director general of China Animal Health and Epidemiology Centre co-chaired the workshop with Dr. Javier Burchard, Canadian project manager.
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