Nov. 17, 2004
By MARIA MCCLINTOCK, OTTAWA BUREAU, SUN MEDIA
Canoe News
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has not yet implemented a critical new element of its feed ban as part of its measures to combat another outbreak of mad cow disease -- 18 months after an international panel urged it to do so. In a briefing to media yesterday, CFIA outlined a number of measures it's taking to prevent another case of bovine spongiform encepalopathy (BSE) from emerging in Canada, including the ban of specified risk material (SRM) -- contaminated tissue in cows.
CFIA spokesman Billy Hewitt said the delay in bringing in the beefed-up feed ban is the result of consulting a number of experts on the issue.
"We began consulting on a series of options for enhancing the feed ban almost within weeks of the investigation last summer of 2003. We at CFIA have been engaged in discussions not just in Canada but also with the Food and Drug Administration in the United States," Hewitt said.
It's not known when the new ban will be brought in. CFIA also repeated an earlier warning that there could be future cases of BSE in Canada.
Conservative MP Gerry Ritz said the feds have been dragging their feet.
"We're out there on the international stage saying 'Open our borders, open our borders' but we still haven't done the homework that was given to us a year-and-a-half ago."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/11/17/718560.html