U.S. Tightening Restrictions on Meat and Poultry Products From Canada

Nov 03, 11:05 PM

Current Headlines: By THE CANADIAN PRESS

WASHINGTON - U.S. regulators have tightened restrictions on meat and poultry products from Canada because of concerns about testing practices at a Canadian firm that was the likely source of bacteria-contaminated meat that sickened 40 people in eight states.

Starting next week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service will increase testing of Canadian meat for salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7.

The inspection service will require that shipments be held up until testing is completed and the meats are proven to be clear of these problems.

Rancher's Beef Ltd. of Balzac, Alta., was linked in October to a multistate outbreak of E. coli infections involving the Topps Meat Co. A massive recall in September, the second largest beef recall in U.S. history, forced Topps out of business. Rancher's Beef also ceased operations.

The inspection service will "immediately begin an audit of the Canadian food safety system that will focus on Rancher's Beef Ltd. and will include other similar establishments that export beef to the U.S.," said Richard Raymond, top food safety official for the USDA. That audit will be reviewed to determine if the additional inspection procedures should be continued.

"This is very serious, at least in the short term," Ted Haney, president of the Canadian Beef Export Federation, told The Canadian Press on Saturday.

He said major beef processing plants have already made the decision to either not operate for the next couple of days or to reduce processing volumes and not trade to the United States.

"This is excessive," he said of the audit, which he called an "excessive and capricious" protocol.

"It was done without consultation, it was done unilaterally, it doesn't reflect the risk of E. coli O157:H7 in both Canada and the United States."

Haney said in the Topps case, three new toxic strains of E. coli O157:H7 were actually found, but only one was traced back to its source.

"That was to Rancher's Beef, in part because of the good work completed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency."

Haney said the Americans are not putting the same level of scrutiny on their own industry.

"I think they have a born-at-home public relations issue that they're attempting to deal with."

He said the World Organization for Animals' Health guidelines indicate that where there is a risk, action should be taken to address the risk in the least trade-distorting fashion.

If the action is excessive, as in this case, argued Haney, it only encourages countries not to investigate food issues and to hesitate to disclose problems that do arise.

The impact on the Canadian industry will be "very negative," he predicted.

"Our industry has been struggling with costs of regulation in Canada; it's struggled with a lack of market access in Asia .... This will be very, very disruptive, at least in the short term."

Ironically, Rancher's Beef got its start in part to help Alberta cattle producers recover from the mad cow crisis of 2003.

A joint U.S.-Canadian investigation matched the DNA fingerprint of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria isolated from beef trim that had remained in storage with Rancher's Beef to samples taken both victims of the food poisoning outbreak and packages of Topps frozen hamburgers. Rancher's Beef had supplied Topps with beef trim used to make the patties, the USDA said. Topps, based in Elizabeth, N.J., recalled 9.8 million kilograms of beef.

In a separate recall that is unrelated to the efforts to tighten Canadian imports, Cargill Inc. of Minneapolis said Saturday it is recalling 454,000 kilograms of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

No illnesses have been reported, said John Keating, president of Cargill Regional Beef.

The agribusiness giant produced the beef between Oct. 8 and Oct. 11 at a plant in Wyalusing, Pa. and distributed it to retailers across the United States. They include Giant, Shop Rite, Stop & Shop, Wegmans and Weis.

Cargill learned the meat may be contaminated after the U.S. Department of Agriculture found a problem with a sample of the beef produced on Oct. 8, the company said. The bacteria is E. coli O157:H7.

A spokeswoman for Cargill said 10 states are included in the recall - Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

"We are working closely with the USDA to remove this product from the marketplace," Keating said in a statement.

Amanda Eamich, a spokeswoman for the USDA Food and Safety Inspection Service, said her agency will work with Cargill to track the beef that could be contaminated and remove it from store shelves.

"We do look in all directions to ensure that products that could be contaminated are not available to consumers," Eamich said.