February 22, 2010

Russia to resume poultry talks with US

Russia is ready to continue the discussion of US poultry supplies, which were suspended January 1 due to new sanitation rules.

The proposed meeting with the US is on March 1-2, but chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko said he is ready to meet the US officials on February 28, the day they would arrive.

Russia banned imports of US chlorine-treated poultry as of January 1, citing new safety requirements. The new requirements, which apply to both imports and meat processed in Russia, state that the amount of chlorine in the solution used for the processing of poultry meat should not exceed the level set for drinking water, 0.3-0.5 milligrams per litre. They also state the fluid that separates when defrosting the meat should not exceed 4% of the total weight of the bird.

Chlorine in the US has been used as the primary antimicrobial treatment for 25 years.

Russia's poultry quota for the US this year is 600,000 tonnes. Imports from the US, the world's largest poultry producer and exporter, accounted for some 750,000 tonnes of poultry consumed in Russia last year.