R-CALF USA, once again, expressed extreme disappointment with another woefully inadequate decision by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) concerning the agency's Final Rule on reopening the Canadian border, with regard to Canada's ongoing problems with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

R-CALF USA maintains that the USDA's Final Rule is fundamentally flawed and should be withdrawn in its entirety because it increases the risk of introducing BSE into the United States--an unnecessary and avoidable risk that USDA has not even attempted to quantify.

On Feb. 9, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns issued a formal statement indicating USDA will "delay the effective date for allowing imports of meat from animals 30 months and over." Johanns also said he is asking U.S. officials to develop a plan to allow imports of animals 30 months and older for slaughter as well as beef from over-30-month (OTM) animals as the next step in resuming full trade with Canada. Additionally, he said the rest of USDA's Final Rule would proceed as announced.

What remains of USDA's Final Rule will still cause problems for U.S. consumers and the U.S. cattle industry by allowing Canadian cattle and beef to enter the United States. USDA is only asking that tonsils and intestines be removed from slaughtered Canadian beef coming into the United States. The agency is not requiring the removal of all Specified Risk Materials (SRMs), which is unacceptable.

"If USDA is allowed to open the border on March 7, the U.S. will be flooded with the most hazardous beef and cattle in the world from the standpoint of BSE risk management," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. "The Final Rule ensures that Canada will be the only BSE-affected country in the world that is not required to remove high-risk tissues in cattle until they are more than twice the age of risk-mitigation requirements established by international standards and practiced by all other countries affected by BSE.

"USDA's decision will continue to pose health risks to U.S. consumers and the U.S. cattle herd, as well as significant financial risks to U.S. cattle producers," said Bullard. "This Final Rule will subject U.S. consumers to an increased BSE risk for the first time in history because it will allow into the United States products that do not even meet the international standards recommended for countries meeting Canada's BSE risk classification.

"This is a far cry from our current policy that provides complete protection to U.S. consumers and the industry because we currently utilize strict import controls to avoid completely the risks associated with BSE," he continued. "In today's announcement, USDA claims it has not yet completed its investigation of Canada's BSE problem. This alone should demonstrate the Final Rule is dangerously premature.

"Our export customers know that USDA is proposing to allow beef into the U.S. that does not even come close to meeting international standards," said Bullard. "And since USDA has imposed no requirements to label beef derived from Canadian cattle, U.S. consumers cannot choose to purchase USA beef for their families if they so desire. If Canada does discover additional cases of BSE, U.S. consumers--because they cannot choose to avoid Canadian beef--could decide to reject beef entirely, resulting in even more damage to U.S. cattle markets."

Bullard said other countries affected by BSE--with experience in reducing BSE--have put into place practices designed to eradicate the disease from their domestic herds, but USDA has chosen to ignore internationally accepted recommendations and the risk mitigation measures those countries practice that are necessary to ensure a safe food supply. The entire rule is intended simply to force the United States to share both the risks and the management of Canada's BSE problem.

"USDA wants us now to assume what they call an acceptable risk of introducing BSE into the U.S., but exactly what is the agency's definition of 'acceptable risk?'" Bullard wondered. "USDA's official statement claims its actions will make the introduction of BSE unlikely, but again, exactly what does USDA mean by 'unlikely?' Is USDA saying it's OK to import five animals with BSE? A dozen animals with BSE? Or, would even more BSE cases here be OK with USDA?

"There are still 33 countries that won't accept Canadian beef, and USDA's Final Rule sets U.S. standards for importing cattle and beef lower than any other country in the world where BSE exists, and that's going to turn the U.S. into a dumping ground for products that other countries--including our own trading partners--will not accept, " Bullard emphasized.

Date: 2/24/05

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