Bovine spongiform encephalopathy import policy for bovine animals and their germplasm and by-products

Amended February 2026

On this page

• Definitions
• Overview
• Background
• Responsibilities
• Risk status
• Import conditions for commodities of bovine origin

Definitions

Animal

includes an embryo and a fertilized egg or ovum.

Animal food

means any food containing an animal product or animal by-product for:

• chickens
• turkeys
• ducks
• geese
• ratites
• game birds
• ruminants
• swine
• horses

but does not include such things as fish meal or vitamin or mineral supplements that do not contain animal products or by-products (Health of Animals Regulations).

Animal by-product

includes:

• blood or any of its components
• bones
• bristles
• feathers
• flesh
• hair
• hides
• hoofs
• horns
• offal
• skins
• wool
• and any thing containing any of those things (Health of Animals Act)

means an animal by-product that originated from a bird or from any mammal except a member of the orders Rodentia, Cetacea, Pinnipedia and Sirenia (Health of Animals Regulations).

Bovine

means cattle, which includes animals of the species Bos taurus or Bos indicus (Health of Animals Regulations), and any animal that is the result of a cross with a Bos taurus or Bos indicus animal, but does not include other ruminants (for example, yak or bison).

BSE slaughter process

means a process of slaughtering an animal where the animal is not subjected to:

• a stunning process in which a device is used to inject compressed air or gas into the animal's cranial cavity, or
• a pithing process involving laceration, after stunning of the animal, of the animal's central nervous tissue by means of an elongated rod-shaped instrument that is introduced into the animal's cranial cavity

Country of origin

means:

• with respect to an animal, the country from which the animal was imported into Canada, where the animal has lived for no less than 60 days in that country in association with other animals of its own species, and in any other case, means the country in which the animal was born
• with respect to an animal embryo, animal product or animal by-product, the country in which the animal embryo, animal product or animal by-product was taken from an animal, or
• with respect to an animal product or animal by-product under the scope of this policy that has undergone processing that would prevent the introduction of any reportable disease, any disease referred to in Schedule VII and any serious epizootic disease to which the species is susceptible, the country in which the product or by-product underwent that processing (Health of Animals Regulations)

Fertilizer

means any substance or mixture of substances, containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium or other plant food, manufactured, sold or represented for use as a plant nutrient (Fertilizers Act).

Germplasm

means semen, male or female germ cells or genetic material taken from a male or female germ cell for the purpose of producing a zygote and includes embryos but does not include a hatching egg.

Livestock

means animals of the:

• bovine
• caprine
• equine
• ovine
• porcine species (Health of Animals Regulations)

Meat product

means the carcass of a food animal, the blood of a food animal or a product or by-product of its carcass or any food that contains the blood of a food animal or a product or by-product of its carcass. It does not include:

• gelatin, bone meal, collagen casing, hydrolyzed animal protein, monoglycerides, diglycerides or fatty acids, or
• any food that contains a meat product in an insignificant quantity, having regard to the nature of the food and of the meat product (Safe Food for Canadians Regulations)

Official veterinarian

means a veterinarian authorised by the veterinary competent authority of the country to perform certain official tasks associated with animal health or public health including inspections of commodities and issuance of zoosanitary certificates.

Poultry

means domestic fowl and pigeons and includes any bird that is in captivity (Health of Animals Regulations).

Prohibited material

means anything that is, or that contains any, protein that originated from a mammal, other than:

• a porcine or equine
• milk or products of milk
• gelatin derived exclusively from hides or skins or products of gelatin derived exclusively from hides or skins
• blood or products of blood
• rendered fats, derived from ruminants, that contain no more than 0.15% insoluble impurities or their products (Health of Animals Regulations)

Ruminant

means an animal of the suborder Ruminatiae and includes an animal of the family Camelidae (Health of Animals Regulations).

Specified risk material (SRM)

means:

• the skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, tonsils, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of cattle aged 30 months or older
• and the distal ileum of cattle of all ages but does not include material from a country of origin, or a part of a country of origin, that is designated under section 7 as posing a negligible risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Health of Animals Regulations)

Veterinary biologic

means:

• a helminth, protozoa or micro-organism
• a substance or mixture of substances derived from animals, helminths, protozoa or micro-organisms, or
• a substance of synthetic origin, that is manufactured, sold or represented for use in restoring, correcting or modifying organic functions in animals or for use in the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease, disorder or abnormal physical state, or the symptoms thereof, in animals; and includes any veterinary biologic derived through biotechnology (Health of Animals Regulations); veterinary biologics do not include veterinary drugs (which are assigned a DIN number) and are primarily regulated by Health Canada (Veterinary Drugs Directorate) under the authority of the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations

Zoosanitary certificate

means a certificate issued and endorsed by an official veterinarian of a competent animal health authority, certifying to the importing country's requirements.

Overview

This policy, under the legislative authority of the Health of Animals Act (HAA) and Health of Animals Regulations (HAR), provides the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) approach to management of the zoonotic and animal health risks associated with the presence of the Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent in bovine animals of an exporting country. It does not remove the Canadian importer's obligation to comply with the import requirements of other CFIA programs and/or other government departments.

This policy adheres closely to the recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and abides by the intent of the North American harmonization of a BSE strategy.

Background

While this policy deals specifically with BSE, it's important to recognize that other factors and diseases may play a role in developing the import conditions necessary to provide an acceptable level of protection for public and animal health. World Trade Organization (WTO) members have rights and obligations detailed in the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). Canada is also subject to the SPS provisions of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Under these SPS agreements, Canada may not impose more rigid requirements on its trading partners than are applied domestically for diseases that are present in Canada.

Before entering an SPS agreement, Canada may conduct an evaluation of the trading partner country's veterinary infrastructure to recognize equivalence. Evaluation provides confidence in the partner country's veterinary services, regulations, and procedures. Another important concept is equivalence of mitigating measures, which is the capability of different sanitary measures to achieve the same outcome. Provided that a proposed mitigating measure achieves the same level of protection as those currently required by Canada, following a scientific evaluation, Canada will accept that measure of the trading partner as equivalent.

Under the HAR, importation of bovine animals and their germplasm, animal by-products, animal pathogens and other things is allowed under certain conditions. The CFIA uses this regulatory authority as the basis for recognition of a specific country, or part of a country, as being free of, or as posing a negligible risk for, a particular disease. This recognition depends on a variety of factors which include, but are not limited to the following characteristics of the country:

• equivalent veterinary infrastructure to Canada's
• effective and implemented system for detecting and diagnosing diseases
• measures taken to prevent the introduction or spread of the disease
• reporting of outbreaks to the international community
• surveillance data

Responsibilities

The importer of bovine animals or their by-products is responsible for complying with the requirements of other CFIA programs that fall under the authority of the:

• Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) and Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR)
• Food and Drugs Act (FDA) and Food and Drugs Regulations (FDR)
• Feeds Act and Feeds Regulations
• Fertilizers Act and Fertilizers Act Regulations

The import of edible beef meat products is regulated under the HAA and HAR, as well as the FDA and FDR and the SFCA and SFCR. The slaughter of bovine animals for the production of imported edible beef must comply with the current Canadian domestic standards set out in the requirements and guidance for meat products and food animals. The parameters include ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection, stunning, age determination, and specified risk material (SRM) removal and disposition. These requirements are set out under the authority of the SFCR.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) helps the CFIA with border clearance responsibilities and importers are obligated to meet any requirements of the Canada Border Services Agency Act or other applicable legislation under which Border Services Officers are designated.

Bovine by-products used in the preparation of food, cosmetics, drugs (including pharmaceuticals for use in animals, pharmaceuticals and biologics for human use, and natural health products for use in animals or humans) and medical devices are regulated by Health Canada under the authority of the FDA and FDR. Veterinary biologics and their components are regulated by the CFIA under the HAA and HAR.

It's the responsibility of the importer or licensee to comply with any import requirements or restrictions associated with the importation or licensing of a commodity for human use, administration to animals, or other activities involving imported materials.

Risk status

Canada accepts the WOAH's recognition of a country's BSE risk categorization. The CFIA does not routinely carry out independent assessments.

To find a country's official risk status for BSE, refer to the Official disease status (WOAH).

Import conditions for commodities of bovine origin

Consult the CFIA's import policies for terrestrial animals, germplasm, and animal by-products.

Access the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) for specific import conditions and required documentation by product type or animal. It also includes non-BSE-related conditions, such as Foot and Mouth Disease requirements.

New conditions for the importation of animals, by-products or any other commodities not listed may be considered on a case-by-case basis, considering such factors as the country of origin, intended use, the nature of the product, the bovine tissues from which it was derived and the manufacturing and processing methods to which it was subjected. Applicable import conditions may be developed based on the outcome of a risk assessment. For more information about this process, see Request to import a new commodity or import from a new country of origin.

Contact a local CFIA office for support.

Type of commodity

Depending on the commodity being considered for importation, BSE-related conditions may be required if import is allowed.