Timely official recognition of outbreaks of foodborne illness is pretty rare in Russia.
But the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing or “Rospotrebndzor” is reporting that salmonella has sickened 21 students and staff at a St. Petersburg school.
Rospotrebndzor reports 17 of the 21 confirmed cases of Salmonella are…
Four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow have been temporarily closed by Russia’s consumer watchdog agency known as Rospotrebnadzor, which claimed that the company had violated several sanitary laws. Rospotrebnadzor also announced that unscheduled visits would be made to McDonald’s outlets in the Urals in central Russia.
McDonald’s officials said they were checking into the complaints and…
Rapid-fire question: You have a raw, whole chicken or turkey. Do you wash it in the sink before cooking it, or do you stick it straight in the oven unwashed? If you chose to wash it first — the wrong answer — you’re more likely to be an American than a Russian. And you’re even…
Concerned over the spread of of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) in U.S. pig populations, Russia announced last week it was suspending U.S. imports of live pigs effective May 30, Reuters reports. The disease has already killed roughly 10 percent of the U.S. pig population and is reportedly spreading across other countries such as…
The ban on U.S. pork and beef exports to Russia over ractopamine is costly for American producers, but not as much as was recently reported by the U.S. Ambassador. 
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told a Moscow business newspaper that the year-old ban had cost America’s pork and beef industries $4-5 billion. The ban…
Zip International Group, LLC, of Edison, NJ, is recalling herring fillets due to Listeria contamination. The recalled herring fillet in oil is a product of Russia and was sold to retail grocery stores in New York state between Nov. 1 and Nov. 14. The 400-gram plastic package has a best-by date of 18/01/2014 and UPC…
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated the nation’s stance on beef imports with regard to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the fatal affliction in cattle commonly known as “Mad Cow Disease.” The U.S. is moving to adopt international standards set forth by the World Organization for Animal Health, which bases trade policies on…
Thirty-three U.S. senators from livestock states, including Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS), chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, on Tuesday sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging him to “quickly address” Russia’s recent ban on all U.S. beef, pork and turkey over residues of ractopamine, an animal…
Russia will ban U.S. turkey products over concerns about the controversial animal drug ractopamine, the country’s Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) announced this week. The news comes a few days after Russia announced it will block U.S. beef and pork as of Feb. 11 due to a lack of compliance to its zero-tolerance policy…
Russia will ban U.S. pork and beef imports starting this month over concerns about ractopamine, a veterinary drug commonly used in North America to boost growth and leanness that is increasingly controversial overseas, according to Russian media reports. “Since the violations continue and we are finding ractopamine in meat shipments from the USA, we plan…
