USDA allowed banned Canadian meat imports

WASHINGTON – Agriculture Department officials acknowledged Friday that the agency had quietly and improperly allowed millions of pounds of banned Canadian processed beef into the United States, despite an often invoked ban against importing that type of meat.

“Clearly the process and our failure to announce some of these actions was flawed,” said Ron DeHaven, USDA’s chief veterinary officer. He and other top officials said, however, that the decision to allow in selected Canadian processed beef was “scientifically sound,” and the meat was safe.

A ban on Canadian beef was put in place last May after mad cow disease was found in the Canadian cattle herd, and it was reaffirmed for processed beef when USDA Secretary Ann Veneman relaxed restrictions on some other Canadian beef products in August.

Friday’s acknowledgement came after a private USDA briefing where Republican and Democratic lawmakers took the agency to task for allowing some companies to import processed beef – usually defined as ground beef, hamburger patties, cubed beef and sausage – while those products were officially still banned.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said after the briefing that USDA officials admitted that “mistakes were made,” and committee Democratic leader Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas, said the improper import permits constituted “a breakdown in the process.”

“The secretary was saying one thing, and something different was happening,” Stenholm said. “When you have a policy that isn’t being carried out, you have a problem.”

The agent that causes mad cow disease can be transmitted to humans, but has done so only rarely. The brain-wasting disease has killed about 150 people, mostly in Europe.

Since mad cow disease was found in Canada, the USDA has been under strong pressure from Canada and large American beef operations with facilities in Canada to relax the ban on Canadian beef products.

There was some dispute Friday about exactly how much processed beef entered from Canada. Census Bureau import statistics analyzed by a cattlemen’s group critical of the USDA showed that 33 million pounds of processed beef was imported between September and February.

But the USDA said its investigation showed that only 7.3 million pounds had come improperly from Canada between September and April. Included in that USDA count was 2.6 million pounds of partially cooked hamburger patties, raw ground beef and frozen dinners, and 2.5 million pounds of hot dogs and cooked sausages.

During a teleconference, USDA officials said that Veneman knew nothing about the processed beef imports and that the permits were approved by lower-level officials.

“The secretary was not aware that (the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) was issuing permits for processed products,” USDA spokeswoman Alisa Harrison said Friday. “While following proper food safety procedures … APHIS failed to obtain approval for their actions from appropriate USDA policy and legal representatives.”

The statement that Veneman knew nothing of the improper imports was received with skepticism by the man who first uncovered the shipments of banned Canadian beef – Bill Bullard, CEO of the Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, which represents small cattle growers.

“I can’t believe the secretary didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “This is among the highest profile issues in her agency, and it’s beyond belief that she would not be fully aware of every step the agency is taking in this area.”

He also took issue with USDA statements that there was no additional risk to the public because of the improper imports. “The rules were in effect because of the scientific assessment that ground and processed beef posed a greater risk of carrying the mad cow agent,” he said. “That means USDA put the American public and cattle herd at unnecessary risk.”

The USDA began issuing the permits to import Canadian processed beef soon after Veneman announced a relaxation of the beef ban in August – a change that allowed boneless beef, but not processed beef, to be imported.

At the time, top USDA officials said that a formal rule-making process, with an opportunity for public debate, would determine when and whether live Canadian cattle and higher-risk Canadian beef products should be allowed back into the United States.

By September, however, the inspection service was issuing permits for processed beef, and it was coming into the United States, mostly through Buffalo. The permits became publicly known only last month as the result of a lawsuit filed by the cattlemen’s legal fund.