Canada Well Prepared for Adoption of International Standards for Animal Feeding
Farmscape for May 18, 2004 (Episode 1518) The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says Canada is well prepared to comply with proposed new international codes of practice for animal feed manufacturing and animal feeding. The CODEX Task Force on Good Animal Feeding is meeting in Copenhagen this week where it's expected to approve a new international code of practice for livestock feeding. The new standard, which will govern the trade of both feed products and products produced from animals that eat those feeds, is expected to be forwarded to the CODEX Alimetarius Commission for final approval sometime in July. CFIA Feed Evaluation Coordinator Judy Thompson, who is heading up the Canadian delegation, says the Canadian feed industry is in an excellent position. Clip-Judy Thompson-Canadian Food Inspection Agency The Canadian regulations right now, as you know, we're in the process of rolling out a set of regulations around the manufacture of medicated feed. We do have regulations around the manufacture of feeds in terms of composition and we do have regulations around the use of mammalian proteins in ruminant feeds so most of the things that are in the code actually will be covered by one of those three sets of regulations. The other good news for Canada is that our on farm sectors are very progressive and they have quality assurance programs that deal with a variety of manufacturing and use aspects of feed that will put us in a good place. I think we'll be 99 percent of the way there once all those things come in place so I think Canada, in particular, is in a very good position to meet the requirements that the code is going to set forth. Thompson says, not only has the government been quite active in the area of feed manufacturing but the livestock production sectors seem to be very innovative and in their efforts to remain at the head of the pack internationally. She says the new international standard will offer consumers a higher level of confidence in our own feed and food systems as well as the systems in countries from which Canada imports food products. For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane. *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council