Special Edition - December 30, 2004

Canadian National BSE Surveillance Program Detects Suspect Animal

OTTAWA, December 30, 2004 - Preliminary BSE testing results completed late on December 29, 2004 have identified a suspect 10-year-old dairy cow. Although the finding is not definitive, multiple screening tests have yielded positive results.

No part of the animal entered the human food or animal feed systems. Samples are currently being analyzed at the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health in Winnipeg. Confirmatory results are expected in three to five days.

The Government of Canada’s normal policy is to report only confirmed results. However, given the unique situation created by the United States’ border announcement on December 29 it was decided that the most prudent action would be to publicly announce the available information and provide stakeholders with a full understanding of the current situation.

Since confirming BSE in Canada in 2003, CFIA officials have stated that finding more cases in North America was possible. Canada’s public health measures have been built on this assumption. As a result, the confirmation of a new case of BSE would not indicate increased risk to food safety as Canada requires the removal of specified risk material (SRM) from all animals entering the human food supply. SRM are tissues that, in infected cattle, contain the BSE agent. This measure is internationally recognized as the most effective means of protecting public health from BSE.

The suspect animal was detected through the national surveillance program, implemented in co-operation with the provinces and the animal health community. Testing was conducted after the animal was identified as a downer, one of the high-risk categories targeted by the surveillance program. To date, more than 21,000 animals have been tested this year.

Similar to the two North American BSE-infected animals detected in 2003, this animal was born before the Canadian and American feed bans were introduced in 1997. If BSE is confirmed in this case, consumption of contaminated feed before 1997 remains the most likely route of transmission. Evidence collected through investigations and risk analyses continues to indicate that the feed ban has successfully limited BSE spread since being implemented.

U.S. officials have been informed of the suspect case of BSE. This finding should not have a significant or lasting impact on efforts to normalize trade. In negotiations with trading partners, including the U.S., Canada has been very open about the prospect of finding more BSE.

The CFIA will hold a technical briefing on December 30, 2004 at 11:00 EST. A media advisory will be issued prior to the briefing with additional information.

                                                                        - Canadian Food Inspection Agency

NCBA Statement Regarding Suspect BSE Case in Canada

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced today that preliminary BSE testing results completed on December 29, 2004 have identified a suspect 10-year-old dairy cow.  Here is what we know:

In a technical briefing today by the CFIA, senior staff veterinarian Dr. Gary Little said the suspect animal was a 10-year old dairy cow from Alberta. Dr. Little said the animal was a downer sampled on an Alberta farm and the sample sent to the regional testing laboratory in Edmonton, Alberta. The animal did not go into the human food supply or animal feed supply.

According to Dr. Little, the Edmonton laboratory conducted two Bio-Rad rapid tests which produced an inconclusive result. The sample then was sent to the Canadian Science Center for Human and Animal Health in Winnepeg, Manitoba, where two additional rapid tests (Prionics test) were conducted on December 29, again with an inconclusive result. The sample now will be tested using the Immunohistochemistry (IHC) test to make a confirmatory diagnosis. Confirmatory results are expected within 2-4 days. CFIA officials said that, as a proactive, precautionary measure, traceback on the animal had already begun and, if confirmed as a positive case, a full investigation will be conducted.

CFIA officials noted that finding another case is not unexpected, that Canada has been very open with its trading partners regarding the possibility of finding more cases and that the U.S. incorporated that possibility in the process of developing its recently announced rule that recognizes Canada as a minimal risk country.

The CFIA also noted that an additional case does not increase risk to food safety. Like the U.S., Canada removes specified risk materials from animals slaughtered for human consumption. In addition, CFIA said another case does not mean BSE is spreading in Canada. The suspect animal was born long before the feed ban was implemented in 1997 and, if BSE is confirmed, it likely is the result of exposure to contaminated feed prior to 1997.

In response to a media question during the technical briefing, CFIA officials stated they had informed USDA of the suspect case prior to USDA’s announcement yesterday regarding the final rule on opening the Canadian border to live cattle.

In a statement released today (see below), Dr. Ron DeHaven, administrator of the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), said the finding of additional BSE cases in Canada in Canada was considered as part of the extensive risk analysis conducted during the rulemaking process and this case, if positive, will not alter the implementation of the U.S. rule that recognizes Canada as a minimal risk country.                                                                                                                  - NCBA

USDA Statement By Dr. Ron DeHaven Administrator, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service

December 30, 2004

"USDA is confident that the animal and public health measures that Canada has in place to prevent BSE, combined with existing U.S. domestic safeguards and additional safeguards announced yesterday provide the utmost protections to U.S. consumers and livestock.

"Last night Canada announced the finding of a "suspect" animal, which is their term for inconclusive. If this animal proves to be positive, it would not alter the implementation of the U.S. rule announced yesterday that recognizes Canada as a Minimal-Risk Region. In the extensive risk analysis conducted as part of the rule making, we considered the possibility of additional cases of BSE in Canada. Because of the mitigation measures that Canada has in place, we continue to believe the risk is minimal.

"When Canadian ruminants and ruminant products are presented for importation into the United States, they become subject to domestic safeguards as well. Beef imports that have already undergone Canadian inspection are also subject to re-inspection at ports of entry by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to ensure only eligible products are imported.  "We are working closely with Canadian officials as they conduct their investigation into this situation."

                                                                                    - United States Department of Agriculture

USDA Issues “Canadian Rule,” Allowing Further Resumption of Trade

USDA Fact Sheet: Final Rule on BSE and Minimal-Risk Regions, December 2004
On Jan. 4, 2005, after a careful and thorough science-based risk assessment and a comprehensive rulemaking process, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will publish a final rule amending its regulations to provide for the importation of certain ruminants, ruminant products and byproducts from regions that pose a minimal risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) into the United States. The rule establishes criteria for regions to be recognized as presenting minimal risk of introducing BSE into the United States. This rule ensures the continued protection of the U.S. food and feed supply from BSE, while removing unnecessary prohibitions on the importation of certain commodities from minimal-risk regions.

A minimal-risk region could include:

• A region in which BSE-infected animals have been diagnosed, but sufficient regulatory measures have been put in place that would make the introduction of BSE into the United State unlikely; or
• A region that has taken effective regulatory measures to prevent BSE, has never detected the disease, but cannot be considered BSE free.

By establishing criteria for minimal-risk regions, the United States has taken a leadership role in fostering trade of low-risk products with countries that have a low incidence of BSE and historically strong risk mitigation measures. Such a move is consistent with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recommendations for the trade in animals and animal products from BSE-affected countries.

Classification of Canada as Minimal-Risk Region
In addition to defining the standards for minimal-risk regions, this rule places Canada in the minimal-risk category and defines the requirements that must be met to allow the import of certain ruminants and ruminant products from Canada.

USDA conducted a thorough risk analysis to evaluate the risk of resuming the importation of Canadian ruminants and ruminant products in view of the two BSE cases of Canadian origin. This risk analysis included careful consideration of the risk mitigation measures Canada has in place to detect and prevent BSE within Canadian cattle and also the risk mitigation measures imposed in this final rule. USDA determined that allowing the importation of certain Canadian ruminants and ruminant products under the conditions imposed by the rule will continue to protect against introducing additional cases of BSE into the United States.

USDA has determined that Canada meets the requirements for a minimal-risk region. The minimal-risk standards that Canada has met include, among other things:

• Import restrictions sufficient to minimize exposure to BSE. Since 1990, Canada has maintained stringent import restrictions preventing the entry of live ruminants and ruminant products, including rendered protein products, from countries that have found BSE in native cattle or that are considered to be at significant risk for BSE.
• Surveillance for BSE at levels that meet or exceed international guidelines. Canada has conducted active surveillance for BSE since 1992 and exceeded the level recommended in international guidelines for at least the past seven years.
• Ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban in place and effectively enforced. Canada has had a ban on the feeding of ruminant proteins to ruminants since August 1997, with compliance monitored through routine inspections.
• Appropriate epidemiological investigations, risk assessment, and risk mitigation measures imposed as necessary. Canada has conducted extensive investigations of BSE cases and has taken additional risk mitigation measures in response to these cases. These risk mitigation measures include among others, prohibiting specified risk materials in human food.

Commodities Eligible for Import from Canada

The final rule is effective March 7, 2005. Certain live ruminants and ruminant products and byproducts are eligible for importation from Canada as of that date under specified conditions. The following commodities are allowed to be imported as long as they meet applicable criteria specified in the regulations:

• Bovines, for feeding or immediate slaughter, as long as they are slaughtered at less than 30 months;
• Sheep and goats (ovines and caprines), for feeding or immediate slaughter, as long as they are slaughtered at less than 12 months of age;
• Meat from bovines, ovines, caprines and cervids (deer, elk, caribou, moose, and reindeer); and
• Certain other products and byproducts, including bovine livers and tongues, gelatin, and tallow.
USDA is also specifying that there are no import restrictions because of BSE for live cervids or camelids (i.e., llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicunas) from a BSE-minimal risk region.

Additional Requirements for Canadian Imports

USDA is confident that the animal and public health measures that Canada has in place to prevent BSE, combined with existing U.S. domestic safeguards and additional safeguards provided in the final rule provide the utmost protections to U.S. consumers and livestock. The final rule provides the following additional requirements for live Canadian feeder cattle designed to ensure they are slaughtered before they reach 30 months of age:

• Feeder cattle must be permanently marked with a brand to identify the BSE minimal-risk region of origin before entering the United States. Feeder cattle exported from Canada will be branded with "C/\N;"
• Cattle must be individually identified with an ear tag before entering the United States. This ear tag allows the animal to be traced back to the premises of origin (birth herd);
• Information must be included on the cattle's animal health certification, relating to animal identification, origin, destination, and responsible parties;
• Cattle must be moved to feedlots in sealed containers and cannot go to more than one feedlot; and
• SRM's will be removed from Canadian cattle slaughtered in the United States in accordance with FSIS regulations.
 

The final rule provides the following additional requirements for live Canadian sheep and goats designed to ensure they are slaughtered before they reach 12 months of age:

• Sheep and goats must be permanently marked with a brand to identify the BSE minimal-risk region of origin before entering the United States. Sheep and goats exported from Canada will be branded with a "C;"
• Sheep and goats must be individually identified with an ear tag before entering the United States. This ear tag allows the animal to be traced back to the premises of origin;
• Information must be included on the sheep's and goat's animal health certification, relating to animal identification, origin, destination, and responsible parties;
• Sheep and goats must be moved to feedlots in sealed containers and cannot go to more than one feedlot.

USDA first proposed changes to its regulations regarding establishing minimal-risk regions and conditions for safely importing live ruminants and ruminant products from such regions on November 4, 2003, and the comment period was still under way when the United States announced its first case of BSE on December 23, 2003. To allow additional time for commenters to evaluate the proposal in the context of the first U.S. finding of the disease, USDA reopened the comment period and accepted comments until April 7, 2004.

Other countries or regions that meet the minimal-risk conditions will be considered in the future. The designation of any future countries as minimal-risk regions will be accomplished through rulemaking procedures following completion of an appropriate risk assessment.

Economic Impact
Prior to detection of BSE in Canada in May 2003, the United States and Canada engaged in significant trade in feeder cattle and slaughter cattle. This rule will reestablish mutually beneficial trade in live animals between the two countries. Because the United States has permitted imports from Canada of boneless beef from animals less than 30 months of age since mid-2003, this rule is expected to have little impact on U.S. beef imports.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).       - USDA

NCBA Statement regarding USDA’s “Canadian Rule” on BSE, Minimal Risk Regions and Importation of Live Cattle
Jan Lyons, Kansas Cattle Producer, and President, National Cattlemen's Beef Association

December 29, 2004

“The announcement of this rule is another step in the process toward normalizing global trade for U.S. beef, which benefits U.S. beef producers. Since 96 percent of the world’s population lives outside U.S. borders, our ability to sell high quality U.S. beef to the world is key to growing the U.S. beef industry and increasing profitability for America’s cattle producers.

“First and foremost, people should know the beef products affected by this rule are safe. Period. This rule will also allow for the importation of feeder cattle and fed cattle less than 30 months of age which science has proven to be safe from BSE. Every beef product sold in this country is inspected, regardless of whether it comes from imported or domestic cattle. 

“Secondly, we expect our trading partners to base their decisions to trade with us on science, and we must do the same. The precedent that has been set by our handling of trade issues with Canada is hurting our government’s ability to fully re-open markets to U.S. beef exports. We must normalize trade with Canada in order for our industry to move forward in the global marketplace, expand our ability to sell U.S. beef to foreign consumers and put more dollars in the pockets of U.S. producers. 

“It is important to note that Canada has expanded its restricted feeder program to allow for year-round movement of feeder cattle to Canada from 39 U.S. states with no testing requirements for Bluetongue or Anaplasmosis. This is a tremendous step toward normalizing trade between our two countries, and NCBA will continue to work for year-round movement of feeder cattle to Canada from all U.S. states.

“Finally, NCBA is insisting that an orderly process be in place to ensure the flow of Canadian cattle into the U.S. does not cause unnecessary disruption to the domestic cattle market.”                             - NCBA