Friday, June 15th, 2007
U.S. group claims banned Canadian cows moving across the border
Canadian Press
WASHINGTON (CP) - A U.S. food safety group is complaining that older Canadian cows are making their way across the border despite the fact that they're still banned.
In a letter this week to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Michael Johanns, Food and Water Watch claims cattle older than 30 months, thought to be at higher risk of mad cow disease, are "routinely" entering the U.S. food supply.
The watchdog group attached affidavits from five unnamed government inspection workers at slaughterhouses in three states.
The workers say there have been direct orders from supervisors not to intervene when an older Canadian animal is being processed, in violation of regulations.
They say policies are inconsistent from one plant to another and complain they can't physically examine the animals to see if the age matches the paperwork.
"Americans should be worried about the impact of older Canadian cattle on the food supply because of the combination of the potentially greater risk ... with the lax border control and weaker slaughterhouse controls in the United States," said the group.
But Steven Cohen, a spokesman for the Food Safety and Inspection Service, said the department's safeguards are clear and thorough.
"Every animal that comes from Canada for slaughter arrives with an import certificate that lists its age and identification in months," he said.
"If any FSIS inspector questions an animal's eligibility for slaughter, designated ... personnel are required to be notified."
The animal is held until a final determination is made, he said.
The food safety group is opposed to U.S. plans to resume trade in older cattle, perhaps within months.
Meantime, a U.S. appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments next month in the latest bid by a persistent American ranchers group to restrict all Canadian cattle imports.
The case, pursued for years by the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, or R-CALF, will get another airing July 13 in Portland, in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Montana-based group's legal fight was successful in delaying the beef trade after Canada's first mad cow case in May 2003, prolonging a crisis that has cost Canadian ranchers billions.
Trade in younger cows resumed in 2005.
Canada and the United States have received got good marks on beef safety from the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.
They both received a "controlled risk" designation, the second-highest safety label.
There have been 10 cases of mad cow or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in Canada and three south of the border.
http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=58644
tss
U.S. group claims banned Canadian cows moving across the border
Canadian Press
WASHINGTON (CP) - A U.S. food safety group is complaining that older Canadian cows are making their way across the border despite the fact that they're still banned.
In a letter this week to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Michael Johanns, Food and Water Watch claims cattle older than 30 months, thought to be at higher risk of mad cow disease, are "routinely" entering the U.S. food supply.
The watchdog group attached affidavits from five unnamed government inspection workers at slaughterhouses in three states.
The workers say there have been direct orders from supervisors not to intervene when an older Canadian animal is being processed, in violation of regulations.
They say policies are inconsistent from one plant to another and complain they can't physically examine the animals to see if the age matches the paperwork.
"Americans should be worried about the impact of older Canadian cattle on the food supply because of the combination of the potentially greater risk ... with the lax border control and weaker slaughterhouse controls in the United States," said the group.
But Steven Cohen, a spokesman for the Food Safety and Inspection Service, said the department's safeguards are clear and thorough.
"Every animal that comes from Canada for slaughter arrives with an import certificate that lists its age and identification in months," he said.
"If any FSIS inspector questions an animal's eligibility for slaughter, designated ... personnel are required to be notified."
The animal is held until a final determination is made, he said.
The food safety group is opposed to U.S. plans to resume trade in older cattle, perhaps within months.
Meantime, a U.S. appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments next month in the latest bid by a persistent American ranchers group to restrict all Canadian cattle imports.
The case, pursued for years by the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, or R-CALF, will get another airing July 13 in Portland, in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Montana-based group's legal fight was successful in delaying the beef trade after Canada's first mad cow case in May 2003, prolonging a crisis that has cost Canadian ranchers billions.
Trade in younger cows resumed in 2005.
Canada and the United States have received got good marks on beef safety from the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.
They both received a "controlled risk" designation, the second-highest safety label.
There have been 10 cases of mad cow or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in Canada and three south of the border.
http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=58644
tss