January 30, 2006

US may allow processed poultry imports from China

There is no need for the public to be concerned about a US plan to allow in imports of poultry processed in China despite outbreaks of the deadly Asian, or H5N1, strain of bird flu there, a USDA official said Friday.

Ron DeHaven, administrator of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, said: "We're talking about processing (of poultry) that, by its very nature, is going to destroy any influenza virus, H5N1 or any other virus."

APHIS is working together with USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, or FSIS, on regulations that would allow for the imports from China, DeHaven said.

Under the proposal, China would be allowed to import unprocessed US or Canadian poultry, process it and then ship the finished product to the US.

US Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, demanded Friday that the USDA reconsider its proposal because of the risk he believes "it poses to US public health and agriculture".

"The Department of Agriculture has failed to show how its proposal for importing processed poultry from China will protect US consumers and producers from the dangers of bird flu," Harkin said.

He said the risk is high because there is a strong presence of the virus in China and 10 people have died there after contracting it.

"It is quite unclear how FSIS will ensure that poultry products processed in China for export to the US will contain no poultry that was raised or slaughtered in China," Harkin said.