Canada is considering easing parts of its enhanced feed ban, a move that could lower costs for beef processors while maintaining food safety. Photo: C. Bowman

Canada's beef industry could soon see lower processing costs as federal regulators consider easing parts of the country's enhanced feed ban for the first time since it was introduced nearly two decades ago.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has launched a public consultation on proposed changes to the regulations, saying advances in science and Canada's improved animal health status have made some of the existing restrictions unnecessary.

The enhanced feed ban was introduced in 2007 following Canada's bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis. The disease, commonly known as mad cow disease, attacks the nervous system of cattle and can spread if infected tissues are recycled into feed for other cattle.

Since then, Canada has strengthened its surveillance and disease prevention programs. In 2021, the World Organization for Animal Health recognized Canada as a country with a negligible risk for BSE, the highest possible international classification.

Under the proposed changes, some lower-risk cattle tissues that are currently classified as specified risk material (SRM) could be used in feed for non-ruminant animals such as pigs and poultry, as well as in pet food and fertilizer.

The proposal would not allow those materials to be fed back to cattle or other ruminants. The highest-risk tissues, including the brain and spinal cord from older cattle, would remain prohibited in all animal feed, pet food and fertilizer. The materials would also continue to be excluded from the human food supply.

According to the CFIA, updated scientific risk assessments found the changes would not increase Canada's risk of BSE as long as existing safeguards remain in place.

The proposal would also bring Canada's regulations more in line with those in the United States.

Industry groups have argued for years that Canada's stricter rules increase costs for processors without providing additional food safety benefits. They say Canadian facilities must remove and dispose of far more specified risk material than comparable plants south of the border, creating additional handling and disposal expenses.

The Canadian Cattle Association and Canadian Meat Council estimate Canadian processors remove about 57 kilograms of specified risk material from every carcass compared with roughly three kilograms in the United States. They estimate the difference adds approximately $167 per tonne in processing costs.

Supporters say reducing those costs would help improve the competitiveness of Canadian beef processors while making better use of animal byproducts that currently must be discarded.

If the proposal is approved, processors wanting to separate and use eligible materials from older cattle would still require CFIA permits and would remain subject to federal oversight.

The consultation remains open until Sept. 9, after which the CFIA will review feedback before deciding whether to move ahead with the regulatory changes.

For Alberta, which is home to Canada's largest cattle herd and several major beef processing plants, the proposed changes could provide modest cost savings while maintaining the food safety measures that helped restore international confidence in Canadian beef following the BSE crisis.

The proposal represents an effort to update regulations that were created during one of the most difficult periods in the history of Canada's cattle industry, while maintaining protections that continue to prevent the disease from returning.