May 7, 2009
Russia lifts pork import ban on US states, adds new
Russia has lifted the ban on raw pork imports from six US states which was imposed due to flu virus but added two new states to the banned list, Russia's animal and plant health watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said on Wednesday (May 6).
A daily report of the flu spread showed that it had excluded from Zone 2, to which a ban on imports of raw pork applies, the states of Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, New Jersey and Ohio. The ban added the state of Massachusetts to the list.
In the US, now only Massachusetts and Arizona belong to Zone 2. The zone also includes the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario as well as the UK and Spain.
Rosselkhoznadzor added Delaware to the list of US states from which imports of all meat and meat products are banned, so-called Zone 1.
The ban also applies to all raw and cooked meat products which could be carried in the personal luggage of passengers and crew, as well as to food served on board airplanes which had stopped in the state.
Besides Delaware, Zone 1 also includes the states of California, New York, South Carolina and Texas, as well as Mexico, where the outbreak started, and countries of Central America and the Caribbean.
