Consumer Groups Warn of Meat Import Deregulation

A pilot project that reduces inspections of meat imported through Canada would loosen safety requirements and is of real concern, said the Safe Food Coalition in a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The group, which includes Food and Water Watch, the Consumer Federation of American and the National Consumers League, also complained of bureaucracy of the "Beyond the Border" (BTB) initiative, an effort to facilitate trade and travel between the U.S.

As part of BTB, the U.S. and Canada started a pilot project allowing for certain Canadian companies to transport fresh meat products to U.S. food processing plants without inspection from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, said the coalition. The pilot is of serious concern as Canada has a higher incidence of food-borne illness and the country has a history of contaminated meat products, it said.

"We have encountered difficulty in determining who is really in charge of the initiative," the group said. The process hasn't been transparent and the group has had trouble getting answers from the USDA, it said. The pilot program should be stopped and the current inspection system provides a good level of protection, it said.