Russia close to lifting US turkey ban
US regulatory authorities have now officially confirmed the absence of the growth-promoting drug ractopamine in turkey production in the US. Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, together with the veterinary services of Belarus and Kazakhstan, will soon inspect US businesses. If these inspections confirm the claims of the US authorities, the ban will be lifted.
Rosselkhoznadzor reported recently that an official letter from the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) had been sent to the head of Rosselkhoznadzor Sergey Dankvert. In the letter, FSIS administrator Aldred Almansi claimed his service “sees no reason to believe that any companies are using ractopamine in the production of turkey for export to Russia”. US authorities also invited Russian veterinary specialists to check these claims themselves.
“With regard to recent requests from Rosselkhoznadzor to schedule inspections, and taking into account that we will achieve a result that allows the US to resume the sale of meat of turkey, beef, pork and meat products, I would like to officially invite inspectors to visit the US for two weeks, with the checks expected to start on 13 May 13 and end on 24 May, for the inspection of slaughter and processing facilities of US meat and poultry companies, producers of finished food products and cold stores,” said the letter, according to Rosselkhoznadzor.
“Although Rosselkhoznadzor cannot be sure in advance that the results of inspection will allow the US to resume the sale of meat of turkey, beef, pork and meat products, we are positively considering the proposal from the US authorities,” said a spokesperson for Rosselkhoznadzor.
The main difficulty at this stage is the agreement of a date for the inspection process with the veterinary services of Belarus and Kazakhstan, as such an agreement may be delayed by two months. In general, experts at Rosselkhoznadzor predict that US turkey has a good chance of being back on the shelves of Russian stores for the summer.
