MPI defends cost of new biosecurity lab
The head of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) biosecurity operation, Stuart Anderson, has defended the cost and the need for a Plant Healht and Environment Laboratory (PHEL) being built in Auckland.
Alltech NZ corporate account manager Nigel Meads, who works on Alltech's regional mycotoxin management team, says there are at least 90 peer reviewed in vivo (on living organisms) trials on Mycosorb and its mode of action is supported by 20 PhD and 22 masters projects.
"It has several patents globally so it is well researched. It has always met the registration requirements in any jurisdiction in the world that has ever required that registration," says Meads.
Meads says MPI has begun the process of registering all mycotoxin binders in New Zealand.
"There have been a lot of unregulated products in that space and the concern has been for animal welfare if any of these products do not deliver what they purport to deliver. Animals may continue to suffer if the product does not do the job.
"The burden of proof has been put on the manufacturers to demonstrate the efficacy of their products."
Meads says Alltech supports that. "From a fundamental animal welfare point of view you cannot continue to let animals suffer if the product is not working."
Registration of mycotoxin binders has been a grey area because there is some debate over whether it is a remedial product or a preventative product. But MPI has been aiming for registration for a while and has now forged ahead.
Mycosorb has been available in NZ for about 20 years. Products from other companies are going through the registration process; these have also been around for a while. Meads says Mycosorb is produced under strict conditions using a proprietory process developed by Alltech that makes Mycosorb unique in the marketplace.
However Meads says sometimes 'Mycosorb' is used as a generic term for all mycotoxin binders, just as 'Hoovering' may be used for vacuuming, although the actual brand being used may be something else.
"Mycosorb is an extremely well recognised brand particularly in the equine world and that is one of the challenges we have had."
"Mycosorb is a registered trademark but the name itself in the industry became like a general descriptor; so a lot of people would say 'yeah I've tried Mycosorb but not your one' or 'I've tried different Mycosorbs'. We are pleased the registration process is clarifying that in the marketplace – that Mycosorb is a registered trademark and there is only one Mycosorb.
