Russia: US pork ban is long-term
The ban on pork and beef imports from the United States has been introduced for the long term, due to the absence of any evidences that ractopamine is safe for human health and clearance of the fact that American producers intend to keep using it, Gennady Onishenko. the head of Federal Service on Surveillance for Consumer rights protection and human well-being (Rospotrebnadzor) reported recently.
“It [ban] will be not limited in time, until they [US authorities] prove to us that ractopamine is safe,” said Onishchenko. “Our scientists conducted their own expertise, based on the findings of the European research community. There is not enough scientific evidence to establish that ractopamine is safe for human health. So we will follow this line,” he said.
As of 11 February, Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor plans to ban the supply of frozen meat and meat products from the United States. This step is taken due to the fact that the American Veterinary Service does not comply with the veterinary requirements of the Custom Union regarding ractopamine.
Onishchenko added that the ban on meat imports from the United States will be the right measure.
“We are not alone, and more than a hundred countries, including the European Union, do not accept the US scientific evidence about the safety of ractopamine. Besides US have a split system policy – they do not deliver meat with ractopamine to Europe, “said the head of Rospotrebnadzor.|
However the United States authorities on Friday have strongly criticised the intention of the Russian veterinary service.
“These actions threaten to undermine our bilateral trade relationship,” Andrea Mead, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative’s office, said. “They are not consistent with international standards and appear to be inconsistent with Russia’s World Trade Organization commitments. We continue to call on Russia to suspend these unjustified measures and restore market access for US beef and pork products”.
