DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5

China Suspends Poultry Imports From Second US Plant Over COVID-19

By Steve Wynne-Jones
Share this article
China Suspends Poultry Imports From Second US Plant Over COVID-19

China has suspended imports from an OK Foods poultry plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas, because of coronavirus cases among workers, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council has said.

China, the world's top meat importer, has blocked products from some plants in foreign countries as part of an all-out effort to control the spread of COVID-19.

The OK Foods plant is the second U.S. poultry facility to be blocked because of an outbreak among employees, after Beijing suspended imports from a Tyson Foods Inc plant in June.

'Not Justified'

"We don't think that either one of these two are justified, especially considering the fact that the virus cannot be transmitted in poultry meat," said Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council.

Chinese customs authority GACC suspended imports from the OK Foods facility, he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

OK Foods, owned by Mexico's Industrias Bachoco , did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Arkansas plant became ineligible to ship products to China on Sept. 13, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Sept. 13 suspension was included on a list of recent changes to approved meat imports published on Sept. 15 on the website of China's General Administration of Customs.

Since the start of the pandemic, 234 plant workers had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Aug. 31, the Arkansas Department of Health said. The facility no longer has more than five active cases, according to the department, which publishes outbreak data on its website.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.