Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

China halts imports of meat from U.S.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 15, 2007

BEIJING - China has suspended imports of chicken feet, pig ears and other animal products from seven U.S. companies, including the world's largest meat processor, in an apparent attempt to turn the tables on American complaints about tainted products from China.

The American meat had contaminants including salmonella, feed additives and veterinary drugs, according to a list posted on the Web site of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine late Friday.

The U.S. and other countries have cracked down on Chinese products since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found in April that North American dogs and cats were poisoned by tainted Chinese pet food ingredients. Since then, a growing number of Chinese products have been found to be tainted with potentially toxic chemicals and other adulterants.

In recent weeks, Chinese authorities have been prominently announcing their own rejections of imports, including U.S. orange pulp, dried apricots, raisins and health supplements - apparently to show that they are not the only ones with food safety problems.

According to the Chinese agency:

- Frozen poultry from Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat processor, was contaminated with salmonella.

- Frozen chicken feet from Laurel, Miss.-based Sanderson Farms Inc. were tainted with residue from an antiparasite drug.

- Frozen pork ribs from Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. contained the leanness-enhancing feed additive ractopamine, the agency said.

- Frozen pig ears from Kansas City, Mo.-based Van Luin Foods USA, Inc. were found to contain ractopamine.

- Frozen chicken feet from Atlanta-based Intervision Foods were tainted with salmonella.

- Frozen pork from Atlanta's AJC International Inc. was tainted with ractopamine.

Both stewed chicken feet and pig ears are popular in China.

Sausage casing from a seventh company, listed by the Chinese agency as "Thumph Foods," was also found to contain ractopamine, according to the Chinese agency. It was not clear whether it was referring to Triumph Foods of St. Joseph, Mo.

Mark Klein, a spokesman for Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc., disputed the Chinese inspectors' findings that his company's products were tainted and said Cargill hoped to resolve the issue by working with U.S. and Chinese officials.

"We're proud of our products and our processes, and we'll be delighted to talk about them with all concerned," he said.

Cargill is the parent company of Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., which, as of 2005, was the ninth-leading pork producer in the U.S., according to the National Pork Producers Council.

Libby Lawson, a spokeswoman for Tyson Foods, said the company knew nothing about any tainted product.

"We're disappointed with this news from China and are investigating these claims, as this is the first we've heard of this development," she said. "We have received no notice from the Chinese government about this matter. We will work with the U.S. and Chinese government to get this matter resolved."

Officials with the other companies could not immediately be reached for comment.

Cargill, Van Luin and "Thumph Foods" were given 45 days to correct the problems, while the others were suspended from imports, though China did not say for how long.

[Last modified July 15, 2007, 00:44:30]