Share your thoughts: Proposed changes to Canada's Enhanced Feed Ban

Current status: Open

Opened on July 11, 2026 and will close on September 9, 2026.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is seeking comments on proposed regulatory changes to the Enhanced Feed Ban for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

These proposed changes reflect current science and Canada's very low risk of BSE today. They aim to reduce regulatory burden and better align with U.S. requirements, while maintaining strong safety protections for Canada's food supply.

About the consultation

BSE is a disease that affects cattle. It spreads when cattle eat feed containing infected animal protein.

To help stop the spread, Canada introduced the Enhanced Feed Ban in 2007. This included banning most mammalian proteins from being fed to cattle and other ruminants, and prohibiting certain high‑risk cattle materials, known as specified risk material (SRM), from being used in animal feed, fertilizer and pet food. These measures played a key role in reducing the main sources of exposure and bringing the epidemic to an end in Canada and globally.

Why we are proposing changes

Today, the risk of BSE is very low in Canada and around the world. However, the measures Canada has in place to prevent its spread have not been updated to reflect this lower risk. Since 2021, Canada has been recognized by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) as having a negligible risk status. Despite this, Canada's rules remain stricter than those in the United States, which also has negligible risk status.

Canada's stricter regulations make costs higher for some Canadian businesses compared to businesses in the United States and limits how some SRM can be reused safely.

This consultation seeks feedback on proposed updates that:

reflect today's lower risk
align more closely with U.S. requirements
continue to protect human and animal health

What we are proposing

We are proposing changes that would allow certain SRM (called eligible SRM) to be used in:

feed for animals that are not cattle or other ruminants
pet food
fertilizer

Eligible SRM would include these tissues from cattle aged 30 months or older:

skull
eyes
parts of the nervous system (trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia)
tonsils
a portion of the small intestine (distal ileum)
Distal ileum from cattle (under 30 months of age)

What will not change

Key protections would remain in place.

All SRM would continue to be banned from human food
High-risk SRM (brain and spinal cord from cattle aged 30 months or older) would still be banned for all uses
All SRM, as well as most mammalian proteins, would still be banned in feed for cattle and other ruminants

How this would work

Businesses such as abattoirs and beef processors could choose to separate and use eligible SRM in certain products.

To do this, they would need a CFIA permit. Before a permit is issued, businesses would need to show they can safely separate eligible SRM from high-risk SRM and manage it under defined conditions.

A permit would be required for eligible SRM from cattle aged 30 months and older. A permit would not be required for distal ileum from cattle under 30 months of age.

Businesses that do not wish to divert eligible SRM would continue to dispose of the tissues as SRM as they do today.

Join in: how to share your feedback

We invite interested parties to share comments on the CFIA's proposal to amend the Enhanced Feed Ban. Your input will help ensure the proposal is well-informed and accurately assessed.

Read and review the documents published in the Canada Gazette Part 1 and then provide your feedback.

Watch this video

This video [9:27 minutes] summarizes what the proposed regulations are.

Consultation on proposed regulatory changes to Canada's Enhanced Feed Ban – Transcript/Captions

[Text on screen: CFIA Safeguarding with Science]

[Text on screen: Consultation on proposed regulatory changes to Canada's Enhanced Feed Ban]

This overview outlines proposed changes to Canada's enhanced feed ban.

These proposed changes are being shared for consultation and are intended to better align with the United States requirements.

[Text on screen: Purpose of this video. Provide a high-level overview of the proposal. Support public consultation. Explain what this stage includes, and what it does not.]

The purpose is to provide a high-level overview of the proposed regulatory changes and to support public consultation. It also explains what's included at this stage and what will be developed later.

[Text on screen: Why this matters. Canada's enhanced feed ban protects animal health and food safety by preventing BSE. An updated framework would: support alignment with the United States and hence facilitate trade, reduce unnecessary regulatory burden, maintain strong safeguards.]

Canada's enhanced feed ban helps protect animal health and maintain food safety by preventing bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.

Updating the framework also supports alignment with the United States, which is important for trade, and helps reduce unnecessary regulatory burden while maintaining strong safeguards.

[Text on screen: Current System. Canada's controls are strong: preventing entry, feed controls, removing specified risk materials (SRM)]

Canada has strong measures in place to protect animal health and food safety. These include controls on imports, restrictions on what can be fed to cattle, and rules that remove certain tissues from cattle at the time of slaughter. These tissues are called specified risk materials, or SRM.

[Text on screen: Why change now. Global BSE risk has declined dramatically. Current regulations no longer reflect today's reality. Canada and United States approaches differ.]

The global occurrence and risk of BSE has declined significantly, with cases now approaching zero worldwide and several countries implementing a feed ban that prohibits feeding cattle to cattle.

Since 2021, Canada has been recognized by the World Organisation for Animal Health as having a negligible BSE risk status. Canada's enhanced feed ban was introduced in two thousand seven, when the BSE risk environment was much higher. Today, the epidemiological situation has changed, and current rules no longer fully reflect today's lower risk.

Canada's approach also differs from that of the United States.

[Text on screen: What is being proposed. A regulatory framework update. Enables future changes to policy and guidance.]

At this stage, the proposal focuses on updating the regulatory framework. This framework would enable possible future changes to policy and guidance, if the proposal moves forward.

[Text on screen: What you will see in the consultation. Proposed regulatory structure. Overall approach]

During this consultation, the proposed structure of the regulations and the overall approach being considered are presented.

[Text on screen: What you will not see. No detailed rules. No operational requirements. No final decisions.]

Detailed rules or operational requirements are not included at this stage. Those details would only be developed after consultation, once a decision is made on whether and how to proceed.

[Text on screen: What would be new. Certain tissues currently defined as specified risk materials could be used differently. A defined subset may be redirected for use in: non-ruminant livestock feed, pet food, fertilizer. Approach algins with the United States.]

Under the proposed approach, a specific subset of materials currently managed as specified risk material could be handled differently. This subset, referred to as eligible SRM, could be redirected from disposal pathways and managed within the existing prohibited material system.

This would allow for its potential use in products such as non-ruminant livestock feed, pet food, and fertilizers, while maintaining existing safeguards.

This approach is consistent with how these materials are managed in the United States.

Detailed decisions about how this would be implemented would be developed later, after consultation.

[Text on screen: Eligible tissues. What is Eligible SRM? Eligible SRM would include: Skull, eyes, tonsils, trigeminal ganglia, and dorsal root ganglia from cattle 30 months or older, and distal ileum of cattle of all ages.]

Only eligible SRM would be permitted for repurposing.

For cattle 30 months of age and older, these include parts of the head, such as the skull, eyes, tonsils, and trigeminal ganglia, as well as the dorsal root ganglia found along the spine.
Another eligible SRM would be the distal ileum, a portion of the small intestine, from cattle of all ages.

[Text on screen: Using the existing flexible, permit-based. The regulations would introduce new permits for abattoirs or processors that opt to process Eligible SRM. Permits would be issued by the CFIA with risk-based conditions. Eligible SRM would be handled as prohibited material when used in non-ruminant livestock feed, pet food, and fertilizer.]

Businesses such as abattoirs and beef processors could choose to separate eligible SRM for use in certain products.

To do this, they would need a CFIA permit. Before a permit is issued, businesses would need to show they can safely separate eligible SRM from the rest and manage it under defined conditions.

Eligible SRM would be handled as prohibited material when destined for non-ruminant livestock feed, pet food and fertilizer. This means it won't be allowed to be fed to cattle or other ruminants.

[Text on screen: When is a new permit not required? When SRM continues to be handled and disposed of as it is today. When only the distal ileum from cattle under 30 months of age is diverted. For renderers, feed mills, and fertilizer manufacturers that receive prohibited material. When carrying out activities already covered by an existing SRM permit (e.g., transportation).]

If an operation continues handling and disposing of specified risk material the same way it does today, no new permit is needed. Facilities can decide whether to make changes based on their operational needs, costs, or market opportunities.

A new permit would only be required if a facility chooses to separate and redirect eligible SRM for approved uses.

A permit would also not be required for facilities that choose to divert only the distal ileum from cattle under 30 months of age.

Renderers, feed mills, and fertilizer manufacturers that receive and handle prohibited material would not need to obtain a new permit.

Existing permits for other SRM activities, such as transportation, would also remain valid.

[Text on screen: How would eligible SRM be managed? Current requirements for prohibited material would apply: prohibition on feeding prohibited material to ruminants, requirements for establishments handling prohibited material, recall procedures, record keeping, product labelling / caution statements, compliance and enforcement.]

Once eligible specified risk material has been segregated, it would need to meet the existing regulatory requirements for prohibited materials as per part fourteen of the Health of Animals Regulations.

These include:

The prohibition on feeding prohibited material to ruminants
Requirements for rendering plants
Recall procedures
Record keeping
Product labelling and caution statements and
Compliance and enforcement

No regulatory changes to how prohibited material is handled are proposed.

[Text on screen: What does not change? Key protections remain in place: no SRM in human food, no prohibited material, including SRM, fed to cattle, existing SRM controls continue to apply unless a permit is issued, brain and spinal cord from cattle 30 months of age and older remain fully regulated as SRM.]

It's important to note that several key protections would remain unchanged.

SRM would continue to be prohibited in food for humans.

Feeding prohibited material, including SRM, to ruminants would also remain strictly prohibited.

Unless an operator has been specifically permitted to process eligible SRM, these tissues would continue to be handled and managed as SRM under the existing requirements.

In addition, the brain and spinal cord from cattle 30 months of age or older would not be considered eligible SRM. These tissues would remain subject to all current rules for control, handling, and disposal.

In other words, the proposed changes would not affect the core measures that protect animal and public health.

[Text on screen: Benefits of approach. Allows abattoirs and processors to make the business decision whether to repurpose these tissues. Will leverage the existing SRM permit system to reduce red tape for applicants. Maintained oversight.]

The following highlights some of the key benefits of the proposed approach.

First, it would give abattoirs and beef processors the flexibility to make a business decision about whether to repurpose these tissues. This allows them to choose the approach that works best for their operations.

Second, the proposal would build on the existing permitting system. The process can be streamlined and made more efficient for applicants by using what's already in place.

Finally, it's important to recognize that strong oversight will continue through existing inspection systems.

Together, these elements support flexibility for industry while maintaining robust safeguards and efficient regulation.

[Text on screen: We want to hear from you. This consultation targets: livestock producer associations, abattoirs and meat processors, livestock feed manufacturers, renderers, fertilizer manufacturers, pet food manufacturers, producers, transporters, compost and waste disposal industry, veterinarian associations, governments, the public.]

This consultation is intended for all interested parties, particularly those involved in the livestock production, processing, feed, rendering, transportation, and waste management sectors, as well as veterinarians, governments, and the public.

[Text on screen: How to participate. 1- Visit gazette.gc.ca. 2- Read the proposed regulations. 3- Share your feedback via the online system.]

To comment on the regulations, visit the Canada Gazette website at gazette.gc.ca.

From there, the proposed regulations can be reviewed and feedback can be submitted using the online regulatory consultation system.

On the Canada Gazette website, scroll down and click "comment on proposed regulations."

The consultation can be found in the "Open consultations" section.

[Text on screen: After the consultation. There is a 60-day comment period. Comments received will be posted online. Your feedback will be used to inform any changes to the proposed regulations. Final regulations will be published in Canada Gazette.]

There is a 60-day comment period.

All comments will be reviewed and considered. To increase the transparency of the regulatory process, all submitted comments will be posted online after the consultation period closes. Comments can be submitted as an individual, an organization, or anonymously.

Feedback will be used to inform any changes to the proposed regulations. Final regulations will be published in the Canada Gazette, Part II at a later date.

[Text on screen: This video was created with the help of artificial intelligence with human oversight.]

This video was created with the help of artificial intelligence with human oversight.

[Text on screen: Canada workmark.]

Who is the focus of this consultation

This consultation targets:

livestock producer associations
abattoirs and meat processors
renderers
livestock feed manufacturers
fertilizer manufacturers
pet food manufacturers
producers
transporters
compost and waste disposal industry
veterinarian associations
governments
the public

Key questions for discussion

We welcome your ideas and thoughts on these themes in relation to the enhanced feed ban proposed amendments:

protecting animal and human health
reducing red tape and improving competitiveness of Canada's agri-food sector
alignment with trading partners, market access and international approaches
feasibility of implementation

Your feedback will be used to inform any changes to the proposed regulations. Final regulations will be published in Canada Gazette, Part II.

Related information

Contact us

You can send questions by email to cfia.BSE_EFB_consult-ESB_IRAB_consulter.acia@inspection.gc.ca and reference "Proposed changes to the EFB" in the subject line.