August 30, 2007

China and US work together on pork ban

China's General Administration of Quality Supervision (AQSIQ) had informed US Department of Agriculture in mid-August of its decision to halt imports of pork produced by five US companies due to their failure to meet Chinese meat safety standard.

AQSIQ Chief Li Changjiang mentioned this in a State Council press conference held on Monday (Aug 27). He added that China will work with other relevant US authorities on these issues. These companies could resume shipments to China if their products meet Chinese import standards.

When queried on US soybean quality issues, Li said that China had actually discovered problems with US soybean quality in last year's imports. Pesticides and soil residues were found in some shipments and China had taken the issue to the US government. China expressed hope that US will closely monitor the quality of soybeans that are being exported to China.