Issue 480, July 21, 2005

On January 4, 2005 the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published a list of countries from which the risk of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was considered minimal, issuing a rule allowing importation under certain circumstances. Canada was included in this listing. Before implementation of this rule, however, an injunction was issued by the U.S. District Court of Montana blocking implementation of the rule.

That injunction has now been reversed allowing importation of certain products and APHIS is implementing the rule as of July 18, 2005. The following products may be imported effective July 18, 2005.

Allowed without Import Permit, subject to a Health Export Certificate issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Beef meat, food products, and byproducts Veal meat, food products, and byproducts Bison meat, food products, and byproducts Whole and half carcasses (beef, veal, bison, sheep goat) Sheep meat, food products, and byproducts Goat meat, food products, and byproducts Bone derived bovine gelatin Bovine tallow Sheep casings Offal derived from cattle or bison Food products, such as soups, that contain small amounts of meat

Allowed without permit or CFIS inspection

Cervid meat (deer, moose, elk, caribou etc.) Hunter harvested wild ruminant meat or dressed carcasses

Imports (VS from 16-6) will be required for

Ruminant products transiting the US from Canada Pet foods containing ruminant products of non-Canadian origin Animal feeds containing ruminant products of non-Canadian origin Ruminant hide-derived gelatin limited to human or industrial use

Prohibited

Personal use amounts of beef, lamb and goat meat Pet food in passenger baggage and groceries

In addition, there are specific requirements for the CFIS certificates and restrictions on the time of day that Canadian products may cross the border. For additional documentation please visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/trade/Dear_Product_importer.pdf

Our contributing writer, Karl Krueger, is a technical advisor for DHL Danzas Air & Ocean.

Please note that due to the complex nature of the subject matter, DHL Danzas Air & Ocean cannot be responsible for actions taken by the reader in reliance on the information contained herein without prior consultation with DHL Danzas Air & Ocean.