Thermal inactivation of African swine fever virus in feed ingredients

African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a fatal infectious disease affecting domestic pigs and wild boars. ASFV is highly stable and easily transmitted by consumption of contaminated swine feed and pork products. Heat treatment of feed ingredients is a means to minimize the risk of contamination through swine feed consumption. The objectives of this study were to determine the thermal inactivation of ASFV in non-animal and animal origin feed ingredients. The rate of thermal inactivation is represented by decimal reduction time (D_T) or time required to reduce ASFV per 1 log at temperature T. The mean D₆₀, D₇₀, D₈₀ and D₈₅ of meat and bone meal (MBM), soybean meal (SBM), and maize grain (MZ) are in the ranges 5.11-6.78, 2.19-3.01, 0.99-2.02, and 0.16-0.99 min, respectively. D_T is used to compare the heat resistance of ASFV in the feed ingredient matrices. The mean D_T of ASFV in MBM, SBM and MZ was not statistically significant, and the heat resistance of ASFV in MBM, SBM, and MZ was not different at 60, 70, 80, or 85 °C. The multiple D_T was used to develop a D_T model to predict D_T at various inactivation temperatures. The D_T models for MBM, SBM, and MZ are log D_T = - [Formula: see text] + 2.69, log D_T = - [Formula: see text] + 2.55, and log D_T = - [Formula: see text] + 4.01. To expand and ease the field applications, a spreadsheet predicting the D_T and the inactivation time (with 95% confidence interval) from these D_T models is available to download.