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July 5, 2010
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Russia allows US poultry treated with antimicrobial rinse
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The Russian government will allow US producers to ship poultry treated with three antimicrobial rinses other than hyperchlorinated water, which it banned January 1.
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This was part of last week's deal sealed by President Obama and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, according to industry sources. The ban on the chlorine wash has led to a ban on all US poultry imports since January 1.
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Sources said that US negotiators are planning to wait until chicken is flowing into Russia before broaching the next controversial topic, namely the fixing of Russia's meat and poultry tariff-rate quotas for 2011.
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The US poultry quota was reduced from 600,000 tonnes to 450,000 tonnes last month ahead of the poultry deal and sources expect Russia to seek to cap 2011 at that level in an effort to protect its growing domestic industry. US producers expect chicken leg quarters to appear on Russian grocery store shelves in about six weeks time, at which point US negotiators will begin tackling the quota issue with their Russian counterparts.
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The quota issue has come up in years past, and usually has been solved in late December. Industry sees the negotiation as tied to Russia's quest to join the World Trade Organization in the sense that the US will argue that closing off its market to imports is not in the spirit of joining the WTO.
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Russia first signalled in January that it would allow these three rinses for US poultry, and in January US industry agreed in principle that they would be willing to switch to these rinses. This has led industry sources to speculate that there were political reasons related to pressure by domestic producers why Russia and the US could not agree earlier this year.
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The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is expected to issue detailed guidance on its export library within days naming the three AMTs and specifying additional inspection and record-keeping procedures that Russia has demanded. FSIS plans to publish it without needing to send it to Russia, a sign that the deal has been finalised, one source said.
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The three AMTs are cetylpyridinium chloride, which is somewhat more expensive that chlorinated water, hydrogen peroxide and peroxyacetic acid. Hydrogen peroxide while inexpensive is not as effective in chilled environments and may not meet USDA requirements, a source said. The source said the added cost of the three is not prohibitive for producers seeking to export to Russia and producers expect to be able to fill this year's quota.
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The new requirements specify that hyperchlorinated water can be used to clean machinery in poultry plants so long as it does not touch poultry. Each plant will have to complete a new application to export to Russia which FSIS will approve. In a question and answer session with industry, FSIS specified that salvaged birds, such as chicken with diseased meat cut away which is then treated with hyperchlorinated water, must not be packed for shipment to Russia.
