By Tom Johnston on 5/5/2009
MeatingPlace.com
China on Monday banned pork from 17 more U.S. states amid the 2009 H1N1 virus outbreak, according to USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The recent action brings to 36 the number of U.S. states that China has banned since late April. The latest were the states of Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.
The ban applies to fresh/frozen and heat-treated pork and pork products derived from swine raised or slaughtered in those states on or after May 3.
Meanwhile, Russia was among a number of other Eastern countries to add to or implement new bans following the flu outbreak.
On Monday, Russia announced that beef, poultry and pork produced on or after May 2 in South Carolina, except for heat-treated product, is ineligible. It has placed similar bans on at least 10 U.S. states since the outbreak began.
Kyrgyzstan on Monday banned all U.S. meat and poultry, while Uzbekistan banned all U.S. pork and pork products.
Pork safety
International health officials have reiterated that people cannot contract the H1N1 virus from eating pork and other meats.
Over the weekend, the World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, World Organization for Animal Health and World Trade Organization issued a joint statement to that effect.
"In light of the spread of influenza A/H1N1 and the rising concerns about the possibility of this virus being found in pigs and the safety of pork and pork products, we stress that pork and pork products, handled in accordance with good hygienic practices … will not be a source of infection," the groups said.
The statement also urged veterinary authorities to work with human health counterparts to monitor pig herds and look for any signs of illness that may be linked to human cases of A/H1N1 influenza. On Monday, the United Nations also called on countries to carefully monitor their pig herds after pigs in Canada were infected.
Canada
Canada also has been the subject of numerous trade bans, most recently implemented by China. Philippines, Singapore, Honduras and several other countries also have closed their borders to Canadian pork.
Canada's biggest pork export markets, including the United States and Japan, have not followed suit. South Korea has banned live hogs from Canada.
No comments:
Post a Comment