CFIA ANNOUNCES NEW FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS FOR HORSES

By Julie Cull

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced the implementation of new a Meat Hygiene Directive concerning all equines (domestic and imported) intended for slaughter at federally-inspected meat processing plants. As of July 31, 2010, slaughter facilities will be allowed to process only those equines with complete health records dating back six months. The maintenance of health records must begin by February 1, for equines that are intended to be sent to (or sold for) processing on or after July 31 of this year.

The English language version of the Information Bulletin from the CFIA that outlines the new requirements is available from the CFIA’s web site at:
 http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/newcom/newsrele.shtml.

The CFIA requires that health records for equines intended for human consumption include the following:
Identification information for the horse, including markings and photos
Record of diagnosed illnesses
Records of drugs or vaccines administered (or fed) that are not intended for use in food animals
Records of drugs or vaccines administered (or fed) with known withdrawal periods
Records of all other drugs or vaccines administered (or fed)

A list of the substances that are not intended for use in food animals can be found at in the Meat Hygiene Directive No. 2009-49 which is available from CFIA’s website at
 http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/meavia/man/direct/2009/dir….

To assist horse owners in the maintenance of health records, the CFIA has created the Equine Identification Document (EID). The EID is a paper document that can be downloaded and printed from the CFIA website.

The CFIA announcement describes this as “the first step in the development of a comprehensive food safety and traceability program for the Canadian equine industry—for both domestic and international markets.” This is in line with previous Agriculture and Agri-food Canada announcements committing to the development of livestock traceability programs for Canada by 2013.

It is expected that the EID paper document will serve as a foundation stone upon which a comprehensive electronic system will be built to incorporate unique equine identification, movement tracking, and health and drug administration information necessary to satisfy food safety and bio-security requirements.

It is expected that further information and details regarding the development and implementation of the national identification and traceability system will be announced shortly.