AGRICULTURE Victoria (AV) is ramping up preparations to ensure its staff are ready to respond to biosecurity threats after fragments of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and African Swine Fever (ASF) were detected in pork products at a Melbourne retail outlet last week.

While the fragments are not transmissible, the detection shows how easily diseases and pests could enter Australia and served as a strong reminder to never feed food scraps containing meat to pigs.