Dozens of Senators Urge USDA to Negotiate Chinese Acceptance of US Poultry
Thirty-seven senators on July 26 urged Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to work to open the Chinese market to U.S. poultry exports, after the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently welcomed Chinese technical representatives for a training course and a review of U.S. avian flu control measures, according to an Agriculture Department spokesman. China banned all U.S. poultry and egg products in January 2015 following the detection of a wild duck with highly pathogenic avian influenza (see 1501130021). A letter led by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., says continued enforcement of the ban is inconsistent with World Organization for Animal Health standards, but adds that the senators are pleased China has started its animal health audit of the U.S. poultry industry.
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“Once this audit is completed, we encourage USDA to remain diligent in seeking final Chinese approval for U.S. poultry’s first successful shipment as quickly as possible,” the senators wrote. “Poultry products are often part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, and our farmers would very much like to be able to offer their products during that time.” The USDA spokesman said U.S. and Chinese representatives "had a good exchange of information" and "substantive discussions" on approaches to disease control. "We look forward to the next steps in the process," he said. Comments on a Food Safety and Inspection Service proposed rule to accept cooked poultry imports from China are due Aug. 15 (see 1706160035), and China in June started accepting U.S. beef for the first time in about 14 years (see 1706150037).