Posted on 04/20/2006 5:53:52 PM PDT by dvan
WASHINGTON - Poultry processed in China will be allowed to enter the United States despite outbreaks of deadly bird flu in China, the Bush administration said Thursday.
Critics said the imported poultry will put public health at risk. The Agriculture Department said the meat would be fully cooked and perfectly safe.
"It will have been processed," said Richard Raymond, the department's undersecretary for food safety. "Cooking will kill the virus, if there is any virus, in poultry meat."
The U.S. does not accept live poultry from countries where the virulent flu strain is present. That policy has not changed.
The poultry would be raised and slaughtered in the U.S. or other countries from which the U.S. accepts poultry. It would be fully cooked and packaged or canned in China. Imports will be allowed beginning May 24.
Critics say the U.S. cannot guarantee that Chinese processing facilities will keep Chinese poultry from mixing with U.S. poultry.
"It's not clear to me the two will be effectively kept separate," said Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record), the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (news, bio, voting record), D-Conn., said the imports are dangerous.
"It is an outrage that the U.S. is going to open our borders to imports of poultry from China — a country that lacks the fundamental safety functions in its processing plants, has questionable export practices, and a country where a deadly animal disease and possible pandemic is running rampant," said DeLauro, top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee's agriculture subcommittee.
The department acted on a request from China, but Raymond said he does not expect very much of the product to be shipped to the U.S. He noted that chicken prices have been low.
"With the price of chicken, I don't know how you could send it across the ocean twice and make money," Raymond said.
He added that poultry is safe as long as it is properly cooked and basic rules for kitchen safety are followed. The department says cooking poultry to 165 degrees will kill viruses or bacteria.
Chinese President Hu Jintao visited President Bush on Thursday at the White House. In advance of his visit, China made several commitments including an agreement to drop a mad cow disease-related ban on imports of U.S. beef. Raymond said the deal is unrelated to poultry imports and has been in the works since 2004.
I wonder if any of their 'chicken' would have whiskers? :p
If you are worried about it, don't buy the cheap stuff.
These chickens could be grown in Mexico, shipped to china, processed, and exported to the US. Or France.
Everybody to their own taste, said the fat woman when she kissed the cow.
PINg
Didn't I see the Prez having a toast with the Chinese on TV today?
No sh1t! I just hope there's a way to readily identify it. I'm sure whoever is exporting it will find ways of passing it off to us.
Meanwhile, the sellout continues. I guess these chickens are willing to do what American Chickens just won't do.
"Made in USA".
Actually, I am pretty sure that was a town in Japan. It was during the post-WWII period, when the Japanese were turning out a lot of shoddy merchandise.
Partly true. It was Japan that named a town Usa after the WW2. http://www.japan-101.com/geography/oita/usa.htm
a way to readily identify it...
Imported food must be identified as such on the label.
W has done some wonderful things, for which he must be given credit. He is NOT the man the left portrays him to be and they are lunatics when they attack him. But he is NOT a man of integrity, nor vision, and he is just his father, except a little more cunning because he learned a little bit from his father's laughable mistakes.
W cannot separate his privileged and absurd sense of noblesse oblige from actual, objective, principled integrity, anymore than Ted Kennedy can. And they have the same thing in common: they are neither very bright, and they both have the moneyed arrogance which so often leads to a confused lack of self-awareness. A dangerous combination.
W has precisely the same shallow attitude which, generally speaking, seperates conservatives from liberals and leftists.
W is Harriet Miers. But because he said Jesus was his favorite "political philosopher," a lot of folks cannot see him for who he is.
I would eat my beloved dogs before I would eat one item of food from China.
"Are a lot of the processed foods sold at Wal-Mart and places like that from China?"
Check out Walmart's frozen fish dept and you'll see plenty of it labeled "Product of China".
Well, this should certainly HELP our trade balance with China (sarcasm). Sometimes I do wonder what Bush is thinking.
*GONG*
Mike stops eating poultry.
Nope, 165 degrees fahrenheit. (You really wouldn't want to cook your poultry to 165 deg C - it'd be a wee bit overcooked!)
Okay,if you say so. But for how long a time?
Thanks to this article I'll now only buy Kosher chicken. It's farm raised and the plant is in Pa. They even deliver!
http://www.empirekosher.com/
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