Recently, the prevention and control of pig diseases has drawn attention across the industry.
From the arrival of raw materials at the factory to the delivery of finished products, feed passes through multiple stages, including production and processing, warehousing, and transportation. Vehicles, personnel, and materials are continuously moving throughout this process. Any point of contact could become an entry point for pathogen transmission.
Across this production and delivery chain, the Aonong feed business incorporates raw material approval, vehicle cleaning and disinfection, zoning within the factory premises, production and processing, finished-product protection, and sampling and testing into its routine management. It also strengthens controls at key locations in response to disease risks at different stages.
Raw materials and vehicles: controlling risks at the point of entry
During raw material procurement and factory intake, each site focuses on source control, intake treatment, and sampling and testing. Nanchang Aonong does not purchase related raw materials such as meat and bone meal, plasma protein powder, or animal fat, and treats raw materials in silos with ozone. Fujian Aonong stores newly arrived raw materials in a designated area pending inspection, covers them with plastic film, treats them with ozone, and then stores them as required. It also regularly conducts sampling and testing of raw materials and vehicles transporting raw materials into the factory.
Vehicles that frequently travel between different locations are one of the important carriers of external risks into factory premises. Each site sets cleaning and disinfection, access, and driving requirements according to vehicle use. Measures such as washing, disinfection, spraying, and drying are combined with route management to reduce the possibility of vehicles bringing in external risks.
Nanchang Aonong classifies and manages vehicles by type of operation. After pickup vehicles undergo manual washing, foam washing, disinfection, automatic spraying, and drying, they enter the plant along designated routes. The plant is divided into contaminated, semi-contaminated, and clean zones, and areas such as the raw material unloading area are managed according to the corresponding requirements.
Recently, in response to changes in the disease prevention and control situation, each site has further strengthened vehicle washing, disinfection, and transport management. Fujian Aonong has raised the disinfection requirements at plant entrances and strengthened drying for bulk transport vehicles serving pig farms. Ji’an Aonong has added foam washing, adjusted the concentration of disinfectants used, extended washing and disinfection times, and added washing and disinfection points.
Personnel entering the plant are also subject to disinfection, changing, and protective measures. Production employees may enter production areas only after changing clothes and showering, then putting on work clothes and work shoes in the clean zone.
Production and Zoning: Reducing Cross-Contact
After entering the plant, prevention and control efforts shift to personnel routing and area separation. Each site manages production, living, raw material unloading, and finished product loading areas separately, based on the plant layout. Fujian Aonong separates the production area from the support area, with production employees and drivers entering the plant along different routes. Nanchang Aonong separates personnel in the raw material unloading and finished product loading areas, and the relevant staff do not perform cross-area work.
In production and processing, process treatments are combined with on-site protective measures. Fujian Aonong subjects some raw materials to extrusion processing and uses a high-temperature pelleting process for finished products. Operations are managed in a closed system from the time raw materials enter the production process through to finished-product packaging. Nanchang Aonong’s production process includes extrusion, grinding, and high-temperature steam pelleting, together with routine disinfection of the production areas.
After processing is complete, prevention and control measures shift to finished product storage. Fujian Aonong delivers bulk feed directly to bulk storage bins and stores packaged finished products in a designated area, restricting access by unauthorized personnel to reduce the risk of contamination during storage.
Finished Products and Transport: Safeguarding Loading and Delivery
Bagged and bulk feed involve different contact scenarios, so their protection priorities also differ.
For bagged feed, the packaging exterior is an easily overlooked area. When feed is loaded onto trucks using conveying equipment, the bags may come into contact with conveyor belts, pallets, and truck compartments. Fujian Aonong disinfects conveyor belts daily and fully covers finished bagged products with plastic film. For some products shipped on pallets, the pallets are also wrapped to reduce direct contact with the truck compartment.
For bulk feed, greater attention is paid to contact with personnel and the site environment during unloading.
Nanchang Aonong prohibits drivers from leaving their vehicles in bulk unloading areas. Unloading is carried out by personnel who have completed disinfection as required, and finished-product loading areas are disinfected daily. Ji'an Aonong has extended its controls to the unloading platform, requiring personnel to disinfect their hands and shoe soles before stepping onto the platform and including frequently touched areas such as operating consoles and switches in routine disinfection.
During transport, control measures focus on vehicle seals, driver conduct, and delivery at the destination.
Fujian Aonong applies seals to areas such as bulk truck hopper doors and electrical control boxes to reduce unauthorized opening during transport. Nanchang Aonong requires drivers to minimize unnecessary stops en route, avoid vehicles transporting pigs, and follow the relevant disinfection procedures before entering pig farms. In response to current control requirements, Ji'an Aonong has also designated dedicated routes for bulk vehicles and requires vehicle drying in accordance with the requirements of the relevant pig farms.
Inspection and Testing: Ensuring Measures Are Implemented on Site
Routine inspections and sampling and testing are important means of verifying the implementation of biosecurity measures. Each site continuously identifies risks involving personnel, vehicles, the environment, and materials through on-site inspections, monitoring footage reviews, work records, and regular testing.
Nanchang Aonong conducts periodic inspections and monitoring reviews by management personnel, and records disinfection operations as required. Relevant sampling and testing are also carried out weekly, covering personnel, the environment, vehicles, materials, and the canteen, among other areas.
Ji’an Aonong strengthens testing of key personnel involved in feed unloading and of the surrounding environment. In line with current prevention and control requirements, it has increased disinfection of the plant premises and feed-unloading platform to twice daily, and strengthened management of personnel disinfection, changing clothes, and feed-unloading operations.
Fujian Aonong has dedicated cleaning and disinfection personnel who regularly conduct sampling and testing at the plant premises, workshops, and on raw materials, finished products, vehicles, and personnel, to identify potential risks in a timely manner.
In response to abnormal test results, the relevant sites take measures according to the entities involved, including suspending operations, restricting vehicle access, carrying out targeted disinfection, and retesting. Operations or access are resumed once the applicable requirements are met.
From the arrival of raw materials at the plant to the delivery of finished products, biosafety is not a single process step but a continuous line of defense.
By implementing prevention and control requirements for every vehicle entry, each worksite, and every delivery, we continuously reduce the risk of pathogen transmission during feed production and transportation.