US and Russia seek to settle differences over antibiotic residues in pork

The US and Russia are trying to work out differences over the antibiotic residues that Russia has said it had found in US pork shipments.

 

Russia, citing drug residue, had disqualified imports from all of the major US production facilities by December, but the two countries are now working on an agreement that would allow trade to resume, USDA official Jim Miller said on Monday (Jan 25).

 

The two countries are trying to work out a new export certificate that is mutually acceptable, Miller said. The proposed export certificates would lock down a level of residue that was not too low for US exporters, but low enough to be acceptable to Russia.

 

Miller said the USDA continues to support the use of antibiotics by hog farmers. Hog farmers in the US have used antibiotics for more than 50 years "to treat and prevent disease or promote growth," according to the US-based National Pork Producers Council.

 

Russia has banned pork produced in US slaughterhouses owned by such companies as Smithfield Foods, Hatfield Quality Meats, Pork King Packing and Tyson Foods, according to a list maintained by the USDA.

 

Russia imported about US$162 million worth of US pork from January through October in 2009, according to USDA data. That was down about 44% from roughly US$290 million worth of pork in the same time frame in 2008.