January 25, 2010

US pork makers fumes over imports

Importing pork rinds from Brazil and other nations threatens the US food safety, said critics of a new federal rule loosening import regulations.

"How essential is it that we start importing pork rinds from countries that have really bad diseases?" said Dave Griswold, a veterinarian at the Bureau of Animal Health in Pennsylvania's Department of Agriculture.

The US Department of Agriculture relaxed the import rules at the request of Rudolph Foods Co. of Lima, Ohio, which owns a pork rind factory in Chapeco, Brazil, a region with a history of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

According to reports, Rudolph food officials said they would only ship pork skins from Brazil once the plant is certified as safe by the USDA.

Chicago's Evans Food Inc., a Rudolph competitor, opposed the rule change along with other US makers of the popular fried pork snacks.