By: Mary Ormsby Feature reporter, Dale Brazao News, as published on The Star
European Commission monitors have “serious concerns” about Canada’s ability to track health and treatment of horses
MICHAEL BURNS / MICHAEL BURNS PHOTO
Thoroughbred race horse Backstreet Bully finished first in this August 2008 race at Fort Erie. The race horse changed ownership after retirement and was sent to slaughter, despite frantic last-minute pleas to save his life by people who knew the horse had been given veterinary drugs over his lifetime that made him unsafe for human consumption.
Exported Canadian horsemeat intended for human consumption cannot be trusted to be free of toxic drugs, according to a recently released European audit that cites “serious concerns” about the integrity of Canada’s food safety measures.
Among the reported findings, auditors discovered that slaughterhouse tests conducted two years ago on horse carcasses poised to enter the human food chain showed residues of prohibited substances, including a commonly used veterinary medicine called “bute.” Phenylbutazone, or bute, has been linked to bone-marrow disease in humans if eaten in meat.
“It cannot be guaranteed that horses (slaughtered in Canada) have not been treated with illegal substances within the last 180 days before slaughter,” the audit states.
The report also described the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the country’s food safety watchdog, as having “shortcomings” in its ability to accurately trace horses’ identities and complete medical histories.
All horses butchered in Canada for export as human food, including horses imported from the United States, must be accompanied by an equine identification “passport” completed by the animal’s last owner. Owners must truthfully declare on these signed affidavits that their slaughter-bound animals have not been given prohibited drugs for the previous six months and are, therefore, eligible to become human food.
A 2013 Star investigation found these passports, called Equine Information Documents, are open to fraud and error. In European countries, in contrast, horse ownership and medical histories are tracked from birth.
European auditors, who police the meat coming into their market, gathered information from Canadian slaughter facilities during a two-week inspection in May of 2014. In their report, auditors expressed doubt about the ability of Canada’s food safety regulator to always provide untainted horsemeat to European Union markets.
“There are serious concerns in relation to the reliability of the controls over both imported and domestic horses destined for export (to EU markets),” the European report states.
Auditors also found that in Canada “there are no official checks to verify the veracity of the (equine passports) or whether the horses actually match the identifications registered” on the passports.
“The information contained in several (equine passports) checked by the … audit team appeared incomplete, unreliable or false. It can therefore not be ensured that horses slaughtered in Canada for export to the EU have not been treated with substances which are not permitted in the EU, in particular hormonal growth promotants.” Testosterone was mentioned as a prohibited growth hormone in EU meat.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, responding to written questions from the Star, declared that horsemeat exported from Canada is safe to eat.
“Canada has a strong and robust food safety inspection system in place,” the agency said in statement.
“This includes effective ante and post mortem verification and frequent sampling and testing of meat to detect residues with CFIA inspectors and veterinarians present on a daily basis. The number of samples taken is consistent with international standards.”
The federal food safety agency also stated it “welcomes feedback from the audit and is committed to addressing opportunities for improvement identified within the report.”
Horsemeat is Canada’s top red meat export to European countries.
The audit team attached to the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office evaluated the sanitary measures and control systems in place for fresh meat exports (including horse, bison and cattle) from Canada to Europe.
With respect to horses, the European team visited unnamed slaughterhouses, feedlots and one border crossing (the majority of horses killed annually in Canada are imported from the United States).
The vulnerability of Canada’s Equine Information Document was also a key concern in a 2010 European audit. That report found Canada’s ability to trace prohibited drugs in food-bound horses “is inadequate” to protect consumers.
Canada’s equine document is the first step in protecting the public from drug-tainted horse meat. A previous Star investigation found the horse passport that Canada relies upon to keep toxic meat off dinner tables around the world is easily compromised. The Star obtained 10 passports in 2013; nine were incomplete or error-riddled.
The 16 carcasses with bute residues identified in the recent audit were tested in 2013 at one unnamed slaughterhouse. The auditors noted the slaughterhouse operator conducted its own investigation of the owners of the 16 horses who submitted the non-compliant equine passports.
Auditors noted that while “the CFIA puts the responsibility for follow-up of non-compliances largely on the shoulders of the slaughterhouses, the CFIA does not always fulfill its obligations for verifying and ensuring the effectiveness of the follow-up investigations and corrective actions.”
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
“Auditors noted that while “the CFIA puts the responsibility for follow-up of non-compliances largely on the shoulders of the slaughterhouses,” ….That in itself is pretty stupid.
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It’s really unacceptable that we eat so much meat given that we’re told it’s not good for us anyway. Doctors should get on board here and urge governments to stop this insanity.
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Doctors are big business too. If we don’t get sick, where is their income? The doctors here only mask the symptoms. They don’t fix the problem. Haven’t you noticed?
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So what. The EU has known about this for a long time and all they do is keep auditing. Why don’t they just tell Canada to stop exporting horse meat to Europe. Same old story when money and animals are involved.
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Key word here is lip service… Also those bad boys with yet another warning and make them promise to be good ole boys.. Haha, it’s a joke (the food integrity commissions)
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Yes, leave the fox to guard the hen house. They’re not stupid, they’re downright deceitful with dollar signs in their eyes. Just can’t trust anybody these days. As far as the eaters go, I have no sympathy for them. We haven’t been gagged over there. The news is out there and they ignore it. Ignorance is no excuse for this, not there or here. I how get what’s coming to them.
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Raymond urges Tesco to honour post-horsemeat UK source commitments
http://www.fginsight.com/news/raymond-urges-tesco-to-honour-post-horsemeat-uk-sourcing-commitments-4422
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And folks were does a large majority of Mexico meat end up – on our shelves.
http://theirturn.net/2015/06/26/53000-live-animals-shipped-from-new-zealand-to-mexico
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Again, PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK!
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Such a scam! I emailed the President of the European Union asking him why they eat US Horse meat. I explained that the comments listed on the horses in Kill Pens states little is known about the horse-owner, vet ect. So please tell me who is completing the health certificates? Most if not all are forged and incorrect. Let them do some under cover work. Everyone in this country should be emailing them as bout this. They only spot check a few carcasses. I go back to the time our slaughterhouses were open and shipped. I would say 99.9% if not all was tainted. I hope they don’t come crying to us about their people coming down I’ll because we have warned them over and over again. I’m calling FedX tomorrow to see if they are the ones flying the Belgians to Japan. Shame on them too! If so I will tell everyone to boycott their services!
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Let us know which airlines are shipping the Belgians or any other horses to Japan or any other countries. Certainly hope it is not FEDX? But could be any airline.. It is all about $$ for them, sadly not about horses & their welfare.. They probably have no idea, or do they?? UGH!!
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Here is a little reminder that their still are a few “men of their word” left who hold onto believes and traditions.
Veteran walks more than 15 miles with horses to attend funeral.
http://www.wfsb.com/story/29367437/veteran-walks-from-middlefield-to-wethersfield-to-attend-funeral
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Very touching story, Geri. Thank you for sharing.
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By God no one be killing and eating horse meet anyway!!!!!!!! Why in the hell would someone do this to these totally awesomely wonderful loving horses THIS IS TOTALY WRONG AND SICKING may and one who kills these horses and eat them should have the same fate done to them
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In honor of my special friend who is an amazing volunteer for “Canter USA” says… ” I hope that all of those people who choose to eat horse meat (with all of the bute & other drugs), “Choke On The Meat & get very ill”… May sound cruel, but she has
tried to save many innocent race horses from slaughter. She cries, when so many horses are shipped off to New Holland… Guess that is why I no longer eat meat, re: the situation with factory farming.. Thanks for sharing this story!
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I hope they choke on it. The Japanes will eat anything that can’t run away from them.
These are the descendants of those that bombed Pearl Harbor… And we are letting them eat our beautiful horses. Disgusting !!!
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