Thursday, July 20, 2017

Glitches remain for meat exports to Europe

The Canadian Meat Council is hoping for two changes to European regulations to improve pork and beef access under the new free trade agreement.

For pork, it’s a change to allow food-safety labeling to be applied immediately before export and only on boxes destined for the European market.

That will enable packers to continue as usual with cooler storage and packaging for the Canadian and other export markets.

For beef, council spokesman Ron Davidson said it may take longer to address the more difficult issue of clarifying which antibiotics are/are not acceptable for on-farm use for beef destined for Europe, and to gain European acceptance for that list.


Davidson said this issue will likely remain open when Sept. 21, the free-trade implementation date, arrives, meaning packers will have to wait to start exporting.