July 22, 2010

Tyson prepares to restart poultry exports to Russia

Tyson Foods Inc. is prepared to resume poultry exports to Russia following the ban on imports of chicken treated with chlorine, according to the company's spokesman.

Gary Mickelson said some Tyson plants have submitted applications to USDA inspectors to resume chicken exports to Russia, and the company has been told these plants will be eligible once they are included on USDA's approved list.

"We're ready to start producing product for our Russian customers and hope to resume shipments soon," Mickelson said.

US and Russian officials signed off on an export agreement late last week after hammering out details, including what formulations of peroxyacetic acids were mutually acceptable to use as pathogen-reduction treatments. The other two PRTs Russia will accept are hydrogen peroxide and cetylpyridinium (sold under the Cecure brand).

On January 1, Russia imposed a ban on imports of poultry treated with chlorine, which effectively shut down US poultry exports to that country. In late June, Moscow said it would resume importing US poultry following assurances from Washington that processors would not use chlorine.