Bill Vaags echoes a sentiment shared by farmers.
Vaags, a hog producer from Dugald, Man., questions the need for new federal rules to monitor medicated livestock feeds.
Canada’s hog producers already are implementing a voluntary quality assurance program, said Vaags, an executive member of the Canadian Pork Council and president of Canada Pork International.
Included in the Canadian Quality Assurance program are measures to encourage the safe and proper use of medications.
“A producer-driven program will, at all times, carry more credibility than something that’s pushed down the throat by government,” Vaags said.
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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency wants to establish mandatory controls for the manufacture of medicated feeds.
The regulations, to be enforced by federal inspectors, would apply to commercial feed mills and farmers.
Commodity groups want the proposed regulations either changed or scrapped so that they do not duplicate the efforts of voluntary on-farm food safety programs.
“I think it’s an unnecessary burden,” said Yves LabbŽ, manager of production and food safety for the Chicken Farmers of Canada.
“The bulk of the burden will be on the farmers themselves.”
Hog, cattle and poultry producers worry that the CFIA will enforce the regulations on a cost-recovery basis, meaning producers would have to pay for inspections and licensing.
The federal regulations might also force farmers to upgrade equipment used to make medicated feeds, LabbŽ said.
“Most of our chicken farms are family farms. They don’t have nutritionists and they don’t have biochemists on site like a lot of big feed mills have,” he said.
The CFIA estimates that almost a third of the livestock feed used in Canada contains medications.There are more than 500 commercial feed mills and several thousand livestock producers who manufacture some or all of their own rations.
The use of feed medications is among the food safety issues coming under greater scrutiny around the globe, according to the federal inspection agency.
That is forcing countries to adopt programs that offer some assurance that the food they produce is safe.
“We’re trading in a world market so we have to keep up just to stay competitive, if not to raise the bar,” said Sergio Tolusso, the CFIA’s feed program co-ordinator.
Administration cost
The agency estimates it will cost $10.3 million to inspect and license all medicated feed manufacturers during the proposed regulatory phase-in period. It would then cost $5 million a year to run the program.
Tolusso said CFIA has not decided whether to charge fees for inspections and licensing.
The agency estimates complying with the regulations will cost the industry $22 million, which covers things such as product sampling, additional record keeping and infrastructure changes.
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association questions those figures and suggests that the number of affected producers will be greater than the agency estimates.
The CFIA regards on-farm food safety programs as insufficient because they are not mandatory.
It said it might recognize them as they evolve and gain acceptance in lieu of strict adherence to some or all of the federal regulations.
Cattle, hog and poultry producers say they understand the principles behind what CFIA wants to do. However, they hope there is room for negotiation.
“We’ve very concerned about this thing,” Vaags said. “It’s grossly overdone and we’d like the (federal minister of agriculture) to reconsider.”
The deadline for suggestions on the proposed regulations has been extended to May 5.
