April 14, 2014

Russia detects high lead content in US sausages

Russian veterinary experts have discovered two shipments of sausages from the US with levels of lead that were "excessive and even dangerous to consumer health".

Industry observers noted that the incident could further damage the meat trade between the two countries, especially given the growing political tension over Ukraine.

"Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor tested the chicken sausage samples from the US. The total size of the two different shipments is 12 tonnes, which was supplied to the Primorsky Krai (region in Far East Russia). During laboratory tests, almost twice the maximum permissible rate of lead - 0.85 milligrams per kilogramme (mg/kg) in the first shipment and 0.87 mg/kg in the second shipment - was discovered, instead of the allowed rate of 0.5 mg/kg," according to Rosselkhoznadzor press secretary Alexei Alexeenko.

Russian veterinary specialists noted that lead is carcinogenic and said the revealed dose was potentially dangerous for human health, with a dose of one mg possibly causing serious side effects and a dose of 10mg possibly leading to death.

Experts from Rosselkhoznadzor are now conducting a large-scale verification of all imported meat products in Russia's Far East regions. They noted that the incident could lead the Russian veterinary watchdog to introduce new bans on meat supplies.

While the United States is not the largest exporter of finished meat products to Russia, as its total share in the country's meat import structure only amounts to 6-7%, in some of the far eastern regions, this figure is as high as 30-40%.