No meat to the U.S. and no potatoes to Canada

Ken Johnston
Editor

No meat to the US and no potatoes to Canada.
Despite rumours that the ban on potatoes from the U.S. is a retaliatory measure for the U.S. ban on Canadian beef, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said that the ban has nothing to do with the beef issue.
Francois Mercure, National Manager Plant Health Division at CFIA, said last week that, “The ban has been on as long as I can remember.”
On the other hand, Diane Bass at Canada Customs, said that, “We received an internal memo from CFIA in September 2002 indicating a restriction on potato imports because of the Mop Top Virus.”

Mercure said that unless potatoes are accompanied by a USDA certificate of inspection they can not be brought into Canada. That is how stores can sell American grown potatoes.

The spuds can not be brought in even if the bag they are in from the store says they have been USDA inspected. Mercure said they have to be accompanied by the inspection certificate. So small quantities would hardly be worth the trouble by the general consumer to get inspected.

Reports of customs asking people to take the spuds back to the States started filtering in about two weeks ago. Bass said that customs has been enforcing it since last Sept. but noted that it has been more noticeable lately because at this time of year there are more people coming into the country with groceries.
The problem has been compounded by the fact that U.S. customs do not want to allow the taters back into their country. A sign has been posted just before customs telling people not to take any U.S. grown potatoes into Canada.

Mercure said that the law that prohibits uninspected potatoes into Canada is the same on the U.S. side. “They do not allow them in without a inspection certificate from us,” said Mercure.

Mercure suspects the sudden increase in enforcement came after CFIA agents did a blitz on the border and discovered Canada Customs were not enforcing the law. He said they would have written a report and Canada Customs would likely have received an enforcement memorandum.

However, Bass stuck to her guns citing the Sept. 2002 memo on Mop Top Virus as the cause for the recent enforcement at the border.

Mercure, did note that there is an exemption in the fruit and vegetable portion of the act that allows for a small quantity of potatoes to come into the country, however the health and disease/pest portion of the act supercedes it.
Bass said that all three customs facilities in this region are enforcing the ban, but noted it is not in their primary set of questions. “We enforce 70-80 pieces of legislation for many agencies at the border. It may arise in further lines of questioning.”