As of February 11, Russia announced it is prohibiting imports of all U.S. beef, pork, turkey, and other meat products by requiring a zero tolerance for the presence of ractopamine, an animal feed additive that is used in 27 countries and has been shown to be completely safe. Chicken is not included in this ban.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk today issued the following statement in response to Russia’s suspension of U.S. meat imports. “The United States is very disappointed that Russia has taken action to suspend all imports of U.S. meat, which is produced to the highest safety standards in the world. Russia has disregarded the extensive and expert scientific studies conducted by the international food safety standards body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which has repeatedly concluded that animal feed containing the additive ractopamine is completely safe for livestock and for humans that consume their meat.”
Secretary Vilsack and USTR Kirk “called for Russia to restore market access for U.S. meat and meat products immediately and to abide by its obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization.”
