Mega-producer JBS USA has banned the use of ractopamine in the hogs it purchases because it sees a trade opportunity with China where the growth drug remains prohibited. JBS, owned by JBS S.A. based in Brazil, hopes to help China fill a huge gap created by the African swine disease
Continue Reading JBS USA drops ractopamine amidst trade opportunities with China
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
Continue Reading Rospotrebndzor reports 21 Salmonella cases in St. Petersburg
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
Continue Reading Four McDonald’s Restaurants Closed in Moscow Following Alleged Food Safety Complaints
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
Continue Reading Do Russians Know More Than Americans When it Comes to Food Safety?
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
Continue Reading Virus Scare Causes Russia to Suspend U.S. Pig Imports
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
Continue Reading Lost Meat Sales to Russia Over Ractopamine Costing Millions, Not Billions
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
Continue Reading Russian Herring Fillets Recalled for Listeria Contamination
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,
Continue Reading Imports and Exports: The Global Beef Trade
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
Continue Reading Senators Urge U.S. Trade Rep to Resolve Russian Ractopamine Ban
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
Continue Reading Escalating Trade Dispute, Russia Bans Turkey Over Ractopamine Residues
