A top USDA official confirms that processed beef from Canada made its way
into the United States despite rules that such product should not allowed
for import.
Speaking to reporters during a teleconference, USDA Undersecretary for
Marketing and Regulatory Services Bill Hawks addressed the subject, which
has caused one Democratic Senator to call for Secretary Ann Veneman to step
down.
North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad sent a letter to President George Bush,
suggesting that Veneman should resign because the processed beef from
Canada was imported to the U.S.
Hawks said some errors in process were made that allowed the product across
the border, but he was quick to add that the ground beef and bone in beef
products posed no added risk for human or animal health.
Following the discovery of a case of Mad Cow Disease in Canada last May,
the USDA announced a ban on all beef from north of the border. In August of
2003, the border was partially opened, but not for bone in beef or ground
beef products.
The USDA reports that 7.3 million pounds of the banned products were
exported from Canada to the United States.MoneyWise:
