U.S. won’t take meat from older Canadian cows

WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department will not allow meat from older cattle when it expands U.S. imports of Canadian beef on March 7, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said Wednesday.

The United States had been planning on that date to reopen the border for import of meat from animals of any age and import of live cattle younger than 30 months. Now, Johanns has instead extended the existing ban on importing older beef. The ban on bringing in older cattle also remains in force.

Two new cases of mad cow disease turned up last month in Canada after the Bush administration decided to reopen the border, and U.S. cattlemen are suing to stop expansion.

Lawmakers and Johanns himself questioned whether it would have been contradictory to allow meat, but not live cattle, from older animals, which are considered more vulnerable to mad cow disease. U.S. meatpackers worried it would flood their market with cheaper Canadian cuts of beef.

“Our ongoing investigations into the recent finds of BSE in Canada in animals over 30 months are not complete,” Johanns said in a statement. “Therefore, I feel it is prudent to delay the effective date for allowing imports of meat from animals 30 months and over.”