Leather industry faces up to FMD threat
04/08/2007
There is the possibility of some short-term reduction or disruption in slaughterings, as animal movements are restricted to licensed movements only. Mr Pearson said this should have little serious impact because this is a relatively quiet period in the tanning industry. After a major outbreak of FMD in 2001, the government established a system of channeling animal movements to abattoirs to meet standards of biosecurity. This could work well again.
There is also a risk of some disruption in international trade in hides, skins and leather as some export certificates may be withdrawn, Mr Pearson continued. In some cases this is likely to result in negotiation between the trade, the UK government and overseas markets, because, although the system for exporting hides, skins and leather is designed to guarantee against the risk of FMD, some importing countries might challenge this.
Finally, markets and buyers may simply require reassurance that the material is safe. In 2001, the UK Leather Federation (then operating under the British Leather Council banner) was able to issue “tailored statements” confirming the safety of materials exported by member companies. The general public sometimes also requires reassurance that materials are safe, Mr Pearson pointed out.
The standard leather making process involves the treatment of the material with strong alkaline solutions to a pH in excess of 12, pickling with acid to a pH below 3, tanning with chromium, or other tanning agents, and dyeing and drying at a temperature well above 50 degrees C. Each of these processes will be more than sufficient to inactivate the FMD virus, and hides or skins that have been subjected to these processes will be free of the disease.
This means that under EU legislation, limed hides, pickled pelts, wet blue and fully tanned leather could be freely traded within the European Union on condition that the accompanying commercial documentation demonstrates the processes the material has undergone. Some countries may also require veterinary certificates.
Since the UK outbreak in 2001, there have been confirmed cases of FMD in Paraguay in 2002, Brazil in 2005, and Argentina, Botswana and Uganda in 2006.
