USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) last Friday notified China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine that it can begin certifying a list of Chinese poultry processing (cooking) establishments as meeting FSIS requirements. The August 30 FSIS notice is available here.
These certified establishments may then begin exporting processed (heat treated-cooked) poultry products to the United States provided the raw poultry was produced from poultry slaughtered under FSIS inspection in the United States or in a country eligible to export slaughtered poultry to the United States, such as Canada and Chile. FSIS explained in the notice that it is currently auditing China’s slaughter inspection system and that no chickens raised or slaughtered in China can be shipped to the United States at this time.
“We are cognizant of the fact that free trade is a two-way street,” said NCC President Mike Brown in response to last week’s announcement. “Any country that can meet USDA’s stringent safety standards is welcome to compete in the marketplace.”
FSIS utilizes a three-part system for both establishing initial equivalence and ensuring the ongoing equivalence of countries that export regulated products to the United States. A foreign country’s inspection system must ensure that establishments preparing poultry products for import into the United States comply with requirements equivalent to those in the Poultry Products Inspection Act and in FSIS regulations. Once a country’s inspection system is granted equivalence, FSIS conducts periodic verification reviews and audits of exporting establishments.
In addition, products undergo re-inspection at U.S. ports of entry to check for proper certification, labeling, transportation damage, and general condition. Selected shipments are subject to additional re-inspection procedures, including examinations for product defects and laboratory analyses to detect harmful chemical residues or pathogen testing appropriate for the products. FSIS performs increased import re-inspection activities for countries that are beginning to export product to the United States.
FSIS conducted an on-site verification audit of China’s program in March that concluded that all previously identified concerns have been adequately addressed and that China’s food safety system governing poultry processing remains equivalent to that of the United States with the ability to produce products that are safe, wholesome, unadulterated, and properly labeled.
The following measures will be taken to ensure that China maintains this equivalence: (1) China must use a specific and standardized method to provide FSIS with detailed information on all aspects of its food safety systems; (2) chicken products processed in China are subject to increased inspection upon entry into the United States; (3) FSIS will audit China’s poultry processing system annually; and (4) if FSIS finds China to be exporting product that does not meet USDA food safety standards, China will no longer be eligible for export to the United States.
