Health Canada changes will make certain livestock feed additives and injectable drugs available by prescription only
OTTAWA — Own use imports of specific veterinary drugs will not be allowed under new rules being proposed by Health Canada.
Mary Jane Ireland, director general of the department’s Veterinary Drugs Directorate, said that change and others to food and drug regulations are designed to protect the effectiveness of existing antimicrobial drugs for humans and livestock. They also aim to limit the threat of antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
Speaking to the December meeting of the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council, Ireland said there was general support for the plan to eliminate antimicrobial drugs from the OUI program.
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At present, the program allows livestock producers to import certain drugs for their own use on their own animals.
Dr. Joyce Van Donkersgoed, a feedlot veterinarian and livestock industry consultant, said the changes won’t affect the beef business because most own use im-ports consist of ivermectins and implants, which will still be allowed after the rules change.
“Under the current regulations, prescription drugs are not allowed either, but there’s been rumours … that some producers were bringing prescription drugs across the border, but currently under the law it’s not allowed,” said Van Donkersgoed.
Rule changes will make certain livestock feed additives and injectable drugs available only by prescription.
“It’s long overdue because right now anybody can go pick up a bottle of those drugs and give it to whatever,” said Van Donkersgoed.
“There’s no monitoring, there’s no training, there’s no oversight, there’s nothing, so there’s no way you can justify to a consuming public that you’re using these products.”
New rules would list the drugs allowed under OUI, and that list will not include medically important antimicrobials or any drugs that contain them.
“So, closing (OUI) but opening it in a meaningful and guarded way when we don’t have a concern for public or food safety,” said Ireland.
Proposed changes as posted on Canada Gazette said they would “prohibit the importation of a drug for the purpose of administering it to an animal that produces food or an animal that is intended for consumption, if its sale would contravene the Food and Drugs Act or regulations,” unless the drug was on the list of allowed drugs established by Health Canada.
Proposals also call for greater oversight of all antimicrobials imported for veterinary use and restrictions on who can import those considered medically im-portant, Ireland said.
Mandatory reporting of antimicrobial sales volume is also part of the proposal with manufacturers and importers required to report volumes annually.
Along with restrictions will come a “new pathway” for import and sale of veterinary health products that are low risk for food safety or human health impacts, said Ireland.
Other proposals involve increasing veterinary oversight of all medically important antimicrobials. Changing them to prescription status will affect about 300 products.
Growth promotion claims can no longer be made on any antimicrobial drugs deemed medically important. Older product may still bear that claim, but no new ones will have it, Ireland said.
Sixty-four products are affected by the label change, and labels will be altered over time. Those that list growth promotion as a sole purpose can be considered for relabelling if they can prove another beneficial effect.
“The livestock industry has a responsibility to the consuming public, and they’re fully aware of that, and the commodity groups are actually very supportive of the regulatory changes,” said Van Donkersgoed, who has participated in several meetings about the proposed changes.
