May 5, 2009
Russia extends US meat import ban on flu concerns
Russia's food safety agency Monday extended a ban on all meat products to a fourth US state and banned pork products from Spain and parts of Canada due to fears of swine flu.
The veterinary and food safety agency announced the extended ban despite an appeal by the US, Canada and Mexico that there was no justification for such bans and they were hampering trade.
In a statement the Russian agency labelled South Carolina part of the "primary risk zone" for exports that could spread the A(H1N1) virus. The embargo covers all meat products dated after May 1.
Pork shipped from Spain and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario from May 2 onward is also banned.
Moscow had already imposed a freeze on all meat products from California, Texas and New York and halted pork imports from a dozen other US states, where the illness has been recorded.
Last week, the Russian government also put out an alert advising against travel to North and South America.
An embargo is in place, meanwhile, on all meat imports from 10 Latin American countries and Mexico, the epicentre of the outbreak.
The World Health Organization has issued a level five warning, but this weekend warned that it could raise its global pandemic alert to its maximum level over the growing outbreaks of the virus in pigs.
