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# Smithfield Shareholders Approve Sale to China's Shuanghui
- URL: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/09/smithfield-shareholders-approve-sale-to-chinas-shuanghui/
- Published: 2013-09-25T05:03:58.000Z
- Updated: 2018-07-31T01:00:26.000Z
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Food Policy & Law, Food Politics, China, shuanghui, smithfield, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-25 08:58

[![](http://foodsafetynewsfullservice.marlersites.com/files/2013/09/porkfarm_406.jpg "porkfarm_406")](http://foodsafetynewsfullservice.marlersites.com/files/2013/09/porkfarm%5F406-1.jpg?ref=foodsafetynews.com)

Shareholders of Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, approved on Tuesday the company’s sale to Shuanghui International Holdings, Ltd., a Chinese food giant. The sale landed approval at $4.72 billion, making it the largest-ever Chinese purchase of a U.S. company. The deal will likely close on Thursday. In July, Smithfield CEO Larry Pope told lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee that the transition of ownership [would not impact food safety](https://www.foodsafetynews.com/smithfield-ceo-tells-lawmakers-shuanghui-deal-wont-impact-food-safety/). Pope also assured committee members that the deal would not result in Chinese food being imported to the U.S. The deal is occurring at a time when China has seen a number of recent food-safety scandals, including a story of 46 people who were imprisoned for selling pork from [diseased pigs](http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/13/world/asia/pigs-china-river/index.html?ref=foodsafetynews.com). The recent scandals have driven many Chinese consumers to seek out foreign food, and many believe that Shuanghui has pursued Smithfield to capitalize on the American company’s reputation as a provider of safe pork. Shuanghui itself faced a scandal in 2011 when it was revealed that some of its pork [contained clenbuterol](http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2011-03/17/content%5F12185197.htm?ref=foodsafetynews.com), an illegal chemical that keeps pork meat leaner but is poisonous to humans. The Smithfield, VA-based company has annual sales of around $13 billion and employs approximately 46,000 people in 26 states.