China Wants Ractopamine-Free U.S. Pork

China now says it will require third-party verification that U.S. pork shipped to the country is free of ractopamine. The decision - which reportedly will take effect March 1st - comes on the heels of Russia banning imports of U.S. meat due to the same feed additive. U.S. Meat Export Federation Director of Communications Joe Schuele says China has a zero-tolerance requirement for pork. He says the question is how to satisfy this third-party verification requirement when U.S. pork is already ractopamine free. He says USMEF is still seeking specifics in terms of what China will accept in order to satisfy the requirement. There is concern this requirement for third-party testing could hurt U.S. pork exports to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong - which were valued at 886-million dollars last year.

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