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In Role Reversal, China Blocks Some U.S. Meat
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In 2006, Tyson exported $889.9 million worth of chicken, with about 8 percent directed to China.
Mark Klein, a spokesman for Cargill, pointed out that China targeted its frozen pork ribs because of the presence of ractopamine, an additive that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and commonly used in the United States, but not China. "The manufacturer is working on that," he said.
Representatives of the other affected meat processors could not be reached for comment.
The American Meat Institute's Riley said the standards being imposed by the Chinese are inconsistent with those used in the United States and many other countries. Anything exported by U.S. processors passes inspection by the Agriculture Department, she said. "These would be approved for consumption in the U.S., and they are being rejected by the Chinese."
For example, a low level of salmonella in raw food is not considered dangerous because the meat will be cooked, and ractopamine is widely used in raising pork, she said.
"It's fed to a large majority of the pigs in the United States," said Jim Hodges, president of the American Meat Institute Foundation. "It simply results in more high-quality, lean pork and less fat."
Powell, of the International Food Safety Network, said he had "watched food safety long enough -- 15 years -- to know that one country's scientific standard is another's non-tariff trade barrier. Science gets used and abused all the time."
Merle reported from Washington.
