Ottawa — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is spending $20 million to hire, train and equip additional staff members to limit disruptions resulting from COVID-19. With meat packers and food processing plants considering extended hours as they adjust to taking extra measures to combat the pandemic, CFIA was in need of a response to […] Read more
CFIA funded to build up inspection corps against COVID-19
Short spells of disruptions still to be expected at food plants
Keeping up is hard to do during these trying times
But here are some key information sources and some of the many news stories dealing with the pandemic
Reading Time: 4 minutes Even if you weren’t calving or getting ready to seed — and had good internet — it would be hard to keep up with all the developments affecting your farm or ranch during the pandemic. Here is a partial list of advisories and new stories at press time (March 31). Government The provincial government has […] Read more
Livestock or pets not considered a risk for COVID-19
Reading Time: < 1 minute There is currently no evidence that animals become sick with COVID-19 or spread the infection. Imports and exports of plants and animals to and from Canada are not currently affected. However, the CFIA will take any necessary action to protect the safety of Canada’s plants and animals. (Updates will be posted at inspection.gc.ca) There have […] Read more
Sick employee disrupts slaughter at Harmony Beef
Part of Calgary beef plant shut down after employee who had been off work tested positive for COVID-19
Reading Time: < 1 minute Harmony Beef, a beef processing plant north of Calgary, had to shut part of its operation down March 26 after an employee fell sick. “Alberta Health Services informed us Thursday that an employee who had not been at work for days had a positive test for COVID-19,” company spokesperson Crosbie Cotton said March 27. The […] Read more
Bovine brucellosis abortion screening pilot
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and participating Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network laboratories are conducting a pilot project to improve Canada’s bovine brucellosis surveillance. Blood and tissue samples related to reproductive issues in cattle submitted to participating network laboratories during this time may be tested for brucellosis at a CFIA laboratory. Brucellosis is a contagious […] Read more
CFIA rethinking limits on travellers’ personal food imports
Consultation running until March
The federal government is considering changes to the amounts of food travellers can bring into Canada with them from other countries for their personal use. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday announced public online consultations on the proposed new limits, which CFIA said would “better reflect the volume of foods typically moved by travellers […] Read more
Grace period for livestock transport regulations
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says producers can contact it if they have questions about the federal livestock transport regulations. The new rules come into effect on Feb. 20, but the CFIA has granted a two-year transition period on the feed, water, and rest interval provisions for the livestock sector. In a statement, the food inspection […] Read more
Ryding-Regency’s federal beef packing licenses cancelled
Citing “false or misleading information” given them during an E. coli probe, food safety officials have now permanently pulled the federal slaughter, processing and export licenses for Toronto’s Ryding-Regency Meat Packers and related companies. The cancellation, announced Monday, indefinitely prolongs what was already described as “critical processing capacity shortage” for the province’s cattle producers, leaving […] Read more
Everyone needs to be on traceability system
Even if you have just one pig, you should be registered with Premises Identification
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you raise pigs — whether in a commercial setting, on a natural or organic operation or in the backyard — get a Premises Identification. “During the outbreak, we used it for tracing, and we used it for notifying farms in the risk area,” said Dr. Julia Keenliside, veterinary epidemiologist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. […] Read more
Stage set for upgrading Canada’s BSE status
Surveillance has highest numbers in five years, country eligible to apply for ‘negligible risk’ status
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s BSE surveillance effort saw the highest number of tests in five years, setting the stage for an application to have its risk status for bovine spongiform encephalopathy upgraded to “negligible.” There were 30,949 samples, mostly submitted by deadstock collection operators, tested in 2018, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said in its e-newsletter. None tested positive […] Read more
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