Saskatoon seminar to address new rules for SRM disposal

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) has organized a seminar for the various cattle industry stakeholders that are affected by new disposal regulations for Specified Risk Materials announced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

The new limitations come into effect July 12, and deal with the handling, transportation and disposal of a list of materials, including skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, tonsils, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of cattle over 30 months of age, plus the distal ileum from cattle of all ages.

The new controls are aimed at preventing any of these materials from being used in livestock feed, pet food or fertilizers, as part of the overall, goal to eradicate BSE from the Canadian cattle herd.

Wendi Dehod, Environmental Engineer in the SAF Livestock Development Branch, says the seminar should be useful for a wide range of industry players.

“We’re hoping this seminar will address the concerns and some of the information requests being put forward to the department from both the slaughter and processing industry here in Saskatchewan, as well as large livestock operations such as feedlots and larger cow-calf operations,” she stated.

Registration for the seminar is open to all interested parties. “Anyone who is going to be dealing with Specified Risk Material is welcome,” Dehod added. “It could be anyone from a local landfill operator to someone thinking of being a regional solution provider.”

While the agenda includes a review of the new regulations by CFIA, the emphasis will be on discussing the various solutions that are available for destruction or containment of SRM.

“We have invited technology providers from incineration companies to in-vessel composters to speak, as well as gasification companies and those who employ processes such as anaerobic digestion,” Dehod said. “We also have Sask Power on the agenda to talk about independent power generation.”

SAF is similarly opening the door to companies that are offering new disposal solutions to the industry.

“Although we’ve made some invitations to some specific disposal companies, it’s only because we have had contact with them in the past,” Dehod noted. “If there is anyone who has a technology they would like to debut or present information on, we’re willing to hear from them.”

The seminar will be held June 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Travelodge Hotel in Saskatoon. Registration forms can be obtained by calling Debbie Meriam at (306) 933-5992, and may be returned by fax or mail before June 12.

There is no charge for the seminar and it is open to the public.

Dehod says the information at the seminar is timely.

“We need to prepare our industries and place some technology on the ground to make sure that Saskatchewan is ready” she stated.

For more information, contact:
Wendi Dehod, Environmental Engineer
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Phone: (306) 933-5357
E-mail: wdehod@agr.gov.sk.ca

Jared Ward, Environmental Engineer
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Phone: (306) 787-4692
E-mail: jward@agr.gov.sk.ca