Russia lifts ban on US pork facilities
Russia has lifted a ban from five US pork processing plants and cold storages and suspended imports from three others, according to an announcement from the country’s animal and plant health watchdog, Reuters reports.
The Federal Service for Veterinarian and Vegetation Sanitary Supervision said in a statement that the ban on the plants imposed from Feb. 10 for “serious violations of the Russian law,” was lifted Wednesday after safety guarantees were received from the US Food Safety and Inspection Service.
In January, the US Agriculture Department said the ban had been imposed because of clerical errors, although hog farmers suspected political reasons.
The watchdog said it had imposed a temporary ban on two US cold storages and a slaughterhouse effective Monday. By 2012, Russia aims to reach self-sufficiency in the production of pork and poultry meat, of which the United States is the major supplier.
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