Canadian agriculture officials are keeping a wary eye on food safety legislation making its way through the United States Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Some of the proposals, if approved, would impose significant new bureaucracy and restrictions on food products being sold into the U.S., senior Agriculture Canada trade official Rory McAlpine said Dec. 7.
“We are watching very closely some of the legislation on bioterrorism and food security,” he said. “Some of it could have a significant negative impact on Canada.”
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Much less of a concern is last week’s announcement by U.S. attorney general John Ashcroft that hundreds of armed American national guards will join the surveillance effort at the Canada-U.S. border, supplemented with regular fly-overs by American military helicopters.
McAlpine said additional security personnel could speed border crossings.
“I think this could be a good thing,” he said. “We are always working on ways to keep border trade flowing and that work will continue.”
But political developments in Washington, D.C., are a different thing.
In the House of Representatives and the Senate, the two arms of the U.S. Congress, several bills have been introduced aimed at protecting the American food supply from bioterrorism.
Among the proposals are mandatory country-of-origin labelling and a suggestion that all packers, processors, wholesalers, brokers or exporters involved with shipping product south register with the U.S. government.
“That would be a bureaucratic nightmare for us,” said McAlpine.
Canadian officials in Washington are warning against some of the more extreme proposals.
But McAlpine said some food safety legislation is almost certain to emerge from Congress next year.
“I think you are definitely going to see something happen in the new year,” he said.
“They see tampering with their food as a real threat.”
