Russia cites antibiotics for pork plant ban
Antibiotic levels have been cited as the main reason for banning imports from seven US pork plants.
Russia has banned meat import deliveries from five US plants from Dec. 15 and another two from Dec. 7. Five belong to Smithfield Foods including the Tar Heel, North Carolina plant which ranks as the world’s biggest.
Other affected plants include two Farmland Foods and two John Morrell plants, both of which are Smithfield brands, as well as a Tyson Foods plant in Madison, Nebraska and the Sioux-Preme Packing Co in Sioux Center, Iowa.
Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian watchdog said the antibiotic oxitetracycline had been found in meat produced at all these plants. In addition, salmonella was found in pork produced at one of the two Farmland Foods plants, according to the watchdog.
Imports are currently banned from 21 US pork plants and Russia has also banned pork imports from one plant in Brazil and another in Ukraine.
Join 18,000+ subscribers
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the pigsector, three times a week.
