WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has directed U.S. border inspectors to comply with a court order by halting shipments of bone-in beef, hamburger and trim from young Canadian cattle.
U.S. Customs Service spokesperson Sue Challis said it would still allow imports of boneless beef cuts from young Canadian cattle.
On April 19, the USDA quietly announced it would further ease import restrictions on Canadian beef by allowing shipments of bone-in beef and hamburger from young Canadian cattle. The U.S. border was closed to all Canadian beef and live cattle last May when an Alberta cow was found with BSE.
Read Also
Sunterra companies continue restructuring under court protection
Claims against Sunterra Group have now been filed as the Alberta-based companies continue operating under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
At first the court order was believed to reverse only the April 19 announcement, but later interpretation also affected trim, which had been permitted since August 2003. Canfax said about half of beef exports to the U.S. have been trim.
An activist cattle group, R-CALF USA, challenged the action and won a court order on April 26 from a federal judge in Montana, who said the USDA did not follow appropriate rule-making procedures.
Experts consider bone-in beef to carry a somewhat higher risk of BSE than boneless beef because of its proximity to the animal’s spinal column.
As well, the USDA had lifted import restrictions for Canadian travellers, allowing them to bring small amounts of all-Canadian beef products into the U.S. Challis said customs inspectors would bar the hand-carried beef from Canada because of the court order.
USDA officials have declined to comment on the issue because it is in litigation. A hearing is set for May 11.
R-CALF is fighting the USDA action because it fears Canadian beef and cattle products could increase the risk of spreading BSE.
The American Meat Institute, a trade group representing U.S. meat packers, disagreed.
“Although there may be merit to plaintiffs’ procedural arguments that appropriate administrative procedures were not followed in permitting imports of some Canadian beef … there is no merit to any suggestions that the products are not safe,” said Mark Dopp, the institute’s senior vice-president.
