The FDA has recently stopped five Canola meal shipments from coming across the border over concerns about Salmonella contamination. The delayed shipments are now raising concerns among Canadian canola growers regarding whether the new FDA policy over imported animal feed may be too strict and may even damage a thriving feed trade between the US and Canada.
“We are concerned that we are going to lose the ability to export our meal to the states,” said Humphrey Banack, a canola grower from Alberta.
The FDA has slapped import alerts on canola meal plants operated by Bunge Canada, Cargill Limited and Viterra. The alerts put the plants on the FDA Red List, which allows inspectors to detain shipments if they appear to contain any “poisonous or deleterious substance” that could be harmful to health.
Some Canadian canola producers are wondering if the Salmonella in animal feed really poses a health risk. Canada has its own inspection program that requires testing for Salmonella in feed but the FDA now has a zero tolerance approach to all products being imported into the US.
I don’t know if a zero tolerance approach to any food pathogen is something that should be corrected. There are enough tragedies surrounding Salmonella showing up in products and in places Salmonella simply does not belong.
