DeLauro, House Members Urge Prevention on Chinese Poultry Imports
The Fiscal Year 2014 Appropriations Bill should include language that prevents funds from being used to implement rules that permit poultry slaughtered in China to be exported to the U.S., said Representative Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and 13 other House members in a Dec. 18 letter to Senate Appropriations leaders. The Agriculture Department Food Safety and Inspection Service recently decided to permit Chinese imports of poultry processed in China but raised and slaughtered in the U.S., Chile and Canada, said the letter.
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“While FSIS determined that such poultry is equivalent to poultry processed in this country, there will be no on-site inspectors in Chinese plants to verify continued equivalency or to prevent the inclusion of Chinese-slaughtered poultry (or any other adulterant) in products imported into the United States,” said the letter. “Furthermore, we believe FSIS is likely to eventually allow China to export its own raw poultry to the United States.” U.S. consumers will also not be able to determine where chicken purchased originates from because chicken products do not require country-of-origin labeling, said the letter. DeLauro requested clarification on certain aspects of Chinese poultry imports in a Sept. 11 letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (see 13091220).