The government is looking to align some rules with the U.S.
Canada is taking steps to align livestock rules with the U.S. to support domestic cattle processors and their competitiveness.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) published proposed amendments related to Canada’s Enhanced Feed Ban (EFB) that if adopted would make Canada’s parallel its southern trading partner.
Canada’s EFB prohibits the use of some animal tissues, known as Specified Risk Material (SRM) in livestock feed, fertilizer and pet food because these tissues can hold prions which can lead to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
For cattle of all ages, for example, this would include the distal ileum, a specific part of the small intestine.
The CFIA enforced the EFB in 2007 in response to BSE and has been in place ever since despite having a negligible BSE risk status with the World Organisation for Animal Health since 2021.
“This misalignment has been cited as creating an unnecessary regulatory burden, as it increases costs and limits value recovery, placing Canadian cattle and processing sectors at a competitive disadvantage within integrated North American markets,” a federal document says.
Specifically, the federal government’s proposal aims to do three things:
- Permit the use of eligible lower-risk SRM in non-ruminant feed, fertilizer, and pet food once these materials have been properly separated and directed into the proper pathways.
- Maintain strong BSE risk controls.
- Maintain access to international markets.
These proposed legislative amendments come after multiple risk assessments between Health Canada, the CFIA, and industry stakeholders.
“In 2025, building on a risk analysis conducted by Risk Sciences International, the CFIA assessed the potential impact of aligning Canada’s SRM requirements for non-ruminant feed, fertilizer, and pet food with those adopted in the U.S.,” the government says. “Both the RSI and CFIA risk assessments concluded that aligning Canada’s list of SRM materials with the U.S. list of cattle material prohibited from animal feed (CMPAF) would not increase the risk of BSE in Canada.”
The government is providing the public an opportunity to weigh in on the planned changes.
Canadians have until Sept. 9 to submit input.