Industry News - PM

USDA proposes rule paving way for cooked Chinese chicken imports


By Susan Kelly on 6/15/2017

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing amending its inspection regulations to list China as eligible to export poultry products derived from birds slaughtered in that country to the United States.

FSIS said it has reviewed China’s poultry slaughter inspection system and determined it is equivalent to the U.S. system.

Currently, China is eligible to export to the United States only poultry products that have been processed from birds slaughtered in U.S. establishments or at slaughter facilities in other U.S.-eligible countries.

A trade deal reached between the United States and China in May opened the Chinese market to U.S. beef while paving the way to allow the import of cooked Chinese chicken.

Poultry groups approve

National Chicken Council President Mike Brown said he is optimistic that a continued dialogue with China will lead to U.S. broiler access being restored. U.S. chicken has been blocked by China since January 2015, when the country issued a blanket ban on all U.S. poultry over issues related to avian influenza.

“In order to be effective, free trade must operate as a two-way street.  Any country that is able to meet the stringent food safety standards set by USDA should be able to compete in a marketplace free of protectionism and artificial trade barriers,” Brown said in a statement.

Brown said the immediate impact of the new rule on U.S. consumers and domestic producers was likely to be minor because the expected low volume of trade should have little effect on supply, demand and prices.

Poultry exports to China peaked in 2008 at a value of $722 million.

The National Turkey Federation (NTF) said it expects U.S. turkey exports also to gain from opening China’s trade door. The United States exported more than $70 million worth of turkey meat to China in 2013, but trade has now been suspended for more than two years, NTF said.

“NTF believes today’s notice regarding the importation of cooked chicken from China is an essential first step in the process of restoring normal exports of U.S. turkey, and all poultry to China,” the group said.

Under the new FSIS rule, slaughtered poultry or poultry products processed in certified Chinese establishments would still need to comply with requirements including those of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service before entering the United States, and all such products would be subject to re-inspection at U.S. ports of entry by FSIS inspectors, FSIS said.

The rule is scheduled to be published on Friday.


 
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