Big Ag Wants President Obama To Allow Imports of Chinese Chicken.
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May 20th, 2009

In the first few months of this year, dozens of products were blocked from coming into the U.S. from China, including fish, cookies, candy, crackers, juice, tea, canned and dried vegetables, and spices.  The reasons for rejection weren't reassuring, either: contamination with melamine or banned chemicals like choramphenicol; pesticide residues and unsafe additives; and conditions inspectors described as "poisonous" and "filthy." 

With a track record like this, it's too soon to start letting in processed poultry from China.  Congress successfully blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from allowing imported processed poultry from China in 2008. There's no reason to believe that Chinese chicken has become any safer, but big corporations such as Smithfield, Tyson, and Cargill have been putting pressure on President Obama to lift the ban to further their own interests.

In addition to ongoing problems with China's food safety standards and inspection system, there have been specific problems with Chinese poultry processing facilities, such as filthy and unsanitary conditions. Even worse, China has experienced several outbreaks of the very contagious bird flu that has not only infected poultry but also been fatally transmitted to humans.

action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/5915/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=988

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