Canada - Pork Producers Urge Caution in Addressing Use of Carbadox

Canadian pork producers are encouraging Health Canada to consider potential trade implications as it addresses the foreign use of Carbadox.

Carbadox, an antibiotic used mainly to protect against swine dysentery, was withdrawn from use in Canada in 2001 because of potential human health concerns and now Health Canada is preparing regulations that would establish maximum residue levels in imported pork products.

Canadian Pork Council executive director Martin Rice explains that's creating some concern within countries that still allow the use of Carbadox.

" The pronouncements that Health Canada has made about taking steps to ban it have created some perceptions, some interpretations that would suggest a constraint on exporting pork into Canada from a country that still has Carbadox available. That has been an interpretation.

We are continuing to discuss with the department if indeed that is a correct interpretation and how we can avoid unnecessary trade implication from this.

Health Canada is well aware of the international obligations that we have under the WTO and other agreements such as NAFTA that the measures we take to protect food safety and animal health, in which we certainly don't have any disagreement with, but those measures need to be the least trade restrictive possible.

So, we would be involved as we can be in urging our regulators to take an approach which meets their mandate to address food safety issues as they see them but in ways that don't unnecessarily restrict trade."

Rice notes he's not aware of any incident where the use of Carbadox has resulted in the rejection of any imported pork product or any residue result that would give rise to onerous regulations in Canada against countries that have Carbadox available.

Increased Restrictions on Using Carbadox in Canada Expected to be Trade Neutral

Health Canada says proposed regulatory changes that would further restrict the use of Carbadox in Canada are intended to protect the safety of the Canadian food supply and are not expected to have trade implications.

Carbadox, an antibiotic used to protect against swine dysentery, was originally approved in Canada in the early 1970's.

In 2001 Health Canada issued a stop sale order on the product due to human health concerns and now is proposing to include Carbadox in the list of prohibited substances which would mean that any Canadian or imported food products with residues of Carbadox or its metabolite would not be permitted to be sold in Canada.

Dr. Siddika Mithani, the Director General of Health Canada's Veterinary Drugs Directorate, says the bottom line is to ensure the safety of Canadians and the safety of the food supply are not compromised.

"In recent years, the late 80's and early 90's, there were some significant findings in terms of studies that were done in lab animals where it was demonstrated that there might be a potential for carcinogenicity with one of the metabolites of the drug Carbadox and, as a result, Health Canada is looking at ways in which we would be able to further restrict the use of this drug in Canada.

Some of the regulatory amendments or the regulatory action that we are proposing at this point in time is to ensure that there are no Carbadox residues in the food that is consumed in Canada."

Dr. Mithani says the proposed regulatory changes are not expected to have trade implications but the issue will be discussed next week with interested sakeholders.

She notes the bottom line is that safety should not be compromised and, if there are other ways to assure there will not be any Carbadox residues in the food supply in Canada, then that's also something that Health Canada will consider.