By Tom Johnston on 4/28/2009
MeatingPlace.com
Russia has suspended imports of not only U.S. pork but also U.S. beef and poultry from certain U.S. states amid concerns of a hybrid swine, avian and human influenza (H1N1) as concerns about an international outbreak grow.
The bans apply to meat and poultry produced in California, Kansas, New York, Ohio and Texas, where cases of the hybrid flu have been reported.
Among the parties trying to fight the flu fears is the U.S. Meat Export Federation, which quickly denounced Russia's decision. USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng described it among the "demonstrated overreactions" by certain trading partners. He said in a weekly briefing that the group's international offices will be contacting central authorities to "get the correct facts out as quickly as possible."
The key fact is humans cannot get the hybrid flu from eating pork, a concern exacerbated by the term "swine flu," which experts now say is a misnomer since there have been no discoveries of the ailment in pigs &0151; let alone in cattle and chickens.
The American Meat Institute is trying to spread the word in a number of materials, including a posting on YouTube. In a statement, the group quotes Dr. Keiji Fukuda of the World Health Organization as saying, "Right now we have no evidence to suggest that people are getting exposed or getting infected from exposure to pork or to pigs. Right now we have zero evidence to suspect that exposure to meat leads to infections."
Meanwhile, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk on Tuesday urged all trading partners to base their decisions on scientific evidence per international obligations.
"Restrictions on U.S. pork or pork products or any meat products from the United States resulting from the recent outbreak do not appear to be based on scientific evidence and may result in serious trade disruptions without cause," he said in a statement.
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