03/05/07 Canadian feed ban problems; COOL push

American Rancher March 5, 2007 Canadian officials have placed precautionary movement restrictions on cattle from nine Saskatchewan farms because they received feed containing ruminant meat and bone meal. That's prohibited under Canada's feed ban to prevent BSE. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the ruminant material was misidentified when it was sent from a processor to feed mills. The agency says no exposed animals or their products were exported and there is no food safety risk. All the contaminated feed has been recalled and the all receiving farms have been properly cleaned. Back in the U.S. the problems with BSE in Canada is one of the reasons congressional supporters of mandatory country of origin labeling have introduced legislation in both houses of Congress to have COOL implemented this September instead of in 2008. North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan points to USDA's plans to allow in Canadian cattle over 30 months of age. Dorgan: "Because of all of that it seems to me it is urgent to first have a country of origin labeling law in place in this country so that our consumers will know what kind of beef they are eating, because we have the safest beef supply in the world. But even more important than that, when we are trying to export to other countries around the world, we can assure them that we have country of origin labeling and when they purchase from us wanting to purchase American beef that is what they are going to get because of country of origin labeling. That's what makes this so urgent." 28 I'm Bob Hoff.