Official USDA APHIS Scrapie Genotyping Requirements

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Export of sheep meat certified as free of scrapie requires compliance with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) animal health programs and USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) export certification requirements.

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Animals must originate from flocks meeting National Scrapie Eradication Program standards, including official identification, traceability, and, where applicable, sampling by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and testing at an APHIS-approved laboratory.

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Export certification for meat products is issued by FSIS and must meet the specific requirements of the importing country, which may include additional animal health attestations related to scrapie status.

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The following information is based on official USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) guidance for scrapie genotype testing under the National Scrapie Eradication Program.

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Official USDA Requirements

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1. Samples are to be collected only from sheep and goats with official scrapie identification tags.

2. The sample must be collected by a Category II accredited veterinarian or by a State or APHIS veterinarian.

3. For sheep, testing must be conducted at an USDA APHIS-approved laboratory.  If the test is used for export purposes, it must also meet requirements specified by the importing country.

4. Samples for official testing must be submitted by an accredited veterinarian or a state or federal animal health employee, sent directly to the approved laboratory and must be accompanied by a VS Form 5-29.  Flock54’s lab, Eurofins, is APHIS-approved.

5. Note that samples must be submitted by the collector directly to the approved laboratory, not through a third party like Flock54, to maintain chain of custody.​

 

Flock54 Operational Procedure (Aligned with USDA Requirements)

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The following procedure describes how Flock54 processes scrapie genotype samples while maintaining alignment with USDA APHIS requirements.

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1. Sample Collection: Samples are to be collected by a USDA-accredited veterinarian in accordance with USDA requirements and must include official scrapie identification recorded on the VS Form 5-29.

2. Complete Flock54 official Submission Form (link here) and email to Ramie Acampora

3. ​Submission to Eurofins (the lab): The veterinarian must submit the samples and accompanying VS Form 5-29 documentation directly to Eurofins for intake and verification. Email Ramie Acampora or call 530-297-3925 for Eurofins address.

4. Results and Traceability: All samples and documentation remain paired throughout the process to ensure accurate reporting and compliance with USDA requirements.