December 3, 2012

South Korea may be qualified to export poultry products to the US after 13-year ban.

The US government published a proposed rule on adding the Republic of Korea (Korea) to the list of countries eligible to export poultry products, including chickens, ducks and turkeys, to the US in its Federal Register, said the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) Friday (Nov 30). If the proposal is accepted after the deadline of January 28 for comments, Korea becomes a sanctioned country for exports of poultry to the US, said the aT.

The US government banned importing Korean poultry products on the ground of poor public health management of sanitation and disease in 1999, when outbreaks of Newcastle disease plagued chicken farms in the country.

To reverse the ban, the Korean government officially requested the USDA to resume exports of chicken, processed chicken and other poultry products in 2004, but was rejected on the basis of failure to meet the US sanitation standards.

Undaunted, the Korean authorities continued to appeal to the ban and consult with US officials, convincing the US government to conduct field inspection in Korea twice. As a result, the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said September last year it was preparing a proposed rule to add Korea to the list of countries eligible to export poultry products to the US.