Russia Extends Meat Ban to Turkey Products

Russia has reportedly imposed a ban on U.S. turkey imports, effective
February 11, 2013, thus extending a ban on pork and beef imports in an
ongoing dispute over the use of growth stimulant ractopamine in animal
feed. According to a news source, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and
Phytosanitary Surveillance (VPSS) made the decision after repeated warnings
from Russian authorities about continual breaches of Russian rules
banning the presence of the chemical—believed to cause health problems
in humans—in food. The Codex Alimentarius Commission has apparently
determined that the chemical is not harmful to humans when present in meat
at low levels, but that has not stopped some countries, such as Russia and
China, from banning it.

“Since the violations continue and we are finding ractopamine in meat shipments from the USA, we plan starting February 11 to impose restrictions on the import of this product,” VPSS Chief Sergei Dankvert said. The agency also called the development “a crude violation of Russian and the Eurasian Customs Union[’s] animal health requirements.” According to a recent Reuters report, a U.S. poultry trade group says that turkey producers that ship to Russia do not use ractopamine and hope that the situation is a “misunderstanding and that it can be resolved without impacting our turkey exports to Russia.” Some claim that the ban is an improper protectionist measure adopted for the benefit of domestic producers who have seen prices fall precipitously since Russia joined the World Trade Organization. See Reuters, February 5 and 8, 2013.