Suzan Holl (301) 734-6464
Jerry Redding (202) 720-6959
USDA ISSUES REGULATIONS FOR HANDLING OF CANADIAN RUMINANT PRODUCTS SHIPMENTS
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2005–The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending its regulations regarding the handling of shipments of ruminants from Canada and the transloading of ruminant products and byproducts that travel across the United States by land from Canada to Mexico or to another country.
In this interim rule, APHIS is proposing that the seals on the vehicle used to move animals from Canada--either to a feedlot or to a slaughtering establishment--must be broken by an authorized USDA representative to allow animals in transit to be offloaded in a timely manner at their destination, while still maintaining the integrity of the shipment.
An authorized USDA representative is defined as an APHIS veterinary services (VS) employee; a USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspector; a state representative; an accredited veterinarian; or an employee of an accredited veterinarian, slaughtering establishment, or feedlot who is designated by the accredited veterinarian or management of the slaughtering establishment or feedlot to perform the function involved.
In order to designate an employee to break official seals, an accredited veterinarian or the management of a slaughtering establishment or feedlot must first supply in writing the name of the designated individual to the APHIS area veterinarian in charge in the state where the seals will be broken. Further, the management of a slaughtering establishment or feedlot must enter into a agreement with VS, agreeing that only designated individuals will break the seals; that the facility will contact an APHIS representative or FSIS inspector immediately if the seals are not intact when the means of conveyance arrives or if the animals being transported appear to be sick or injured due to transport conditions; and that the facility will cooperate with APHIS representatives, FSIS inspectors, and state representatives in maintaining records of sealed shipments received.
In addition, the interim rule will allow the direct transloading at the U.S. border of Canadian ruminant products and byproducts destined for use outside of the United States under federal supervision.
This interim rule is scheduled to appear in the Nov. 28 Federal Register and is effective upon publication.
Consideration will be given to comments received on or before Jan. 27, 2006. Send an original and three copies of postal mail or commercial delivery comments to Docket No. 03-080-8, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road, Unit
118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. If you wish to submit a comment using the Internet, go to the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov and, in the “Search for Open Regulation” box, select “Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service” from the agency drop-down menu, then click on “Submit.” In the Docket ID column, select APHIS-2005-0003 to submit or view public comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
Comments are posted on the Regulations.gov Web site and may also be reviewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building, 14th St. and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. To facilitate entry into the comment reading room, please call (202) 690-2817.
Note to Reporters: USDA news releases, program announcements and media advisories are available on the Internet. Go to the APHIS news release page at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/newsroom/. Also, anyone with an e-mail address can sign up to receive APHIS press releases automatically. Send an e-mail message to lyris@mdrdlyriss10.aphis.usda.gov and leave the subject blank. In the message, type subscribe press_releases.