Ukraine raises the bar on meat and livestock QC

Petro Verbitskyi, the chairman of the state veterinary medicine committee, announced these figures at a news conference on December 16. In his words, importation of meat decreased as a result of stepping up laboratory control, and issuing less permissive documents for meat imports.

Also Verbitskyi stressed, this year 4,600 tons of poor meat products had been withdrawn from markets and meat factories, 1,700 tons more from storehouses.

Apart from this the committee chairman says this year they closed down 16 enterprises having European numbers (permissions for supplies of products to the European Union), in whose production chains infection agents were discovered.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the state veterinary medicine committee predicted reduction in meat imports by 18.9-22.6% or between 100,000 and 120,000 tons in 2009 over 2008, to 410,000 or 430,000 tons.

Information from the committee, Ukraine imported 212,000 tons of meat products and raw meat in the first half of 2009.

Early in 2009, the ministry of agrarian policy predicted meat imports would decrease by 47% or 53% in 2009 over 2008, to 250,000 or 280,000 tons.