June 9, 2020

Possible postponing of ractopamine audits in Canada's pork sector due to COVID-19

The COVID-19 situation in Canada may led to the postponing of third-party audits under the Canadian Ractopamine-Free Pork Certification Program, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Such postponements may affect pork exports to China which has banned ractopamine. In June-July 2019, the country suspended pork and beef trade with Canada following the discovery of ractopamine residue in a pork shipment. However, the Canadian Pork Council assures that the postponements will not impact trade.

Facilities with audits between March and the end of May are likely to be affected, CFIA said. About 41 feed facilities had audits scheduled in that period. A total of 340 feed facilities are registered with the Canadian Ractopamine-Free Pork Certification Program (CRFPCP).

Some of the facilities could choose to do the audits at a later date when the COVID-19 situation abates, CFIA said.

Canada's pork industry has already suffered from processing bottlenecks and market free fall due to COVID-19. Even then, the CRFPCP will continue to function regardless of the audits, Gary Stordy, director of government and corporate affairs with the Canadian Pork Council, said.

"It's not a new programme where people have to learn how to administer it and do it," he said. "We just do not use ractopamine and this is a clerical process to demonstrate that and back up the results of the tests that are taken."

The integrity of the programme will still be underwritten by producer-processor contracts, traceability and random tests at the processing level, he noted.

- Manitoba Co-Operator