Please leave this field empty
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
  • About
  • Problems
  • Campaigns
  • Impacts
  • Research
  • Contact
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
  • facebook
  • twitter
Please leave this field empty
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
$
Menu
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Search
Please leave this field empty
  • facebook
  • twitter

Has USDA Approved Chinese Poultry Imports? Advocates Demand Answers

Is a Cargill poultry plant in China poised to export meat to the United States? 

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • google-plus
  • envelope

We all need safe food and clean water.

Donate
08.27.15

Washington, D.C.—Is a Cargill poultry plant in China poised to export meat to the United States? That question lies at the heart of a controversy sparked by an August 13th article on WATTAgNet.com that reported that a Cargill plant in the Anhui province had been cleared by USDA to export poultry meat to the U.S. because USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) had recently granted equivalency status to the poultry food safety inspection system there. According to the article, the Cargill plant had met the U.S. export requirements for poultry meat. In response to the report and conflicting comments from FSIS, the national advocacy organization Food & Water Watch sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack demanding that he clarify the situation.

“We were astonished and disturbed to read that a decision had been made by USDA to clear Cargill to export poultry to the United States,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “We have been following this issue for nearly a decade, and FSIS has not proposed a rule to permit China to export its own poultry to the U.S. Even though FSIS claims that the story is inaccurate, it has not asked for a retraction, suggesting to us that there may be some veracity to the story’s content. That is why we are demanding answers from USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.”

Food & Water Watch contacted editorial staff at WATT publishing asking whether FSIS or Cargill had requested a correction or retraction; they indicated that none had been received. The story remains online despite the fact that FSIS officials claim it is inaccurate.

FSIS conducted an audit of China’s poultry inspection system in May of 2015. The report for that audit has not been posted by FSIS. At the present time, China is restricted to exporting processed poultry to the U.S. provided that the raw poultry comes from a handful of countries—the U.S., Canada, Chile and Israel. Only a new rule, subject to public comment, would allow China to export its own poultry meat to the U.S.

“Meanwhile, country of origin labeling is under siege at the World Trade Organization and in Congress,” added Hauter. “Consumers want to know where their food comes from, particularly if it’s from a country with notoriously lax food safety standards. If ever there were a situation where consumers would want to know the origin of their food, imported poultry from the People’s Republic of China would top that list. We hope Secretary Vilsack can shed some light on this situation.”

Read the letter to Secretary Vilsack.

Contact: Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch, (202) 683-4905, kfried(at)fwwatch(dot)org


Food & Water Watch champions healthy food and clean water for all. We stand up to corporations that put profits before people, and advocate for a democracy that improves people’s lives and protects our environment.

###

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

Monsanto's Roundup is a "probable human carcinogen." We need to ban it!

Get the latest on your food and water with news, research and urgent actions.

Please leave this field empty

Latest News

  • BLUE COMMUNITIES: Learn What They Are And Get Started

    BLUE COMMUNITIES: Learn What They Are And Get Started

  • Tom Vilsack’s Cozy Relationship With Big Ag Makes Him A Non-Starter at USDA

    Tom Vilsack’s Cozy Relationship With Big Ag Makes Him A Non-Starter at USDA

  • Trump’s Out, Biden’s In! Now The Fight Of Our Lives On Climate Begins.

    Trump’s Out, Biden’s In! Now The Fight Of Our Lives On Climate Begins.

See More News & Opinions

For Media: See our latest press releases and statements

Food & Water Insights

Looking for more insights and our latest research?

Visit our policy & research library
  • Eversource’s Plan to Privatize New Hartford’s Water

  • The Urgent Case for a Moratorium on Mega-Dairies in New Mexico

  • Fracking, Power Plants and Exports: Three Steps for Meaningful Climate Action

Fracking activist with stickersFracking activist in hatLegal team loves family farmsFood & Water Watch organizer protecting your food

Work locally, make a difference.

Get active in your community.

Food & Water Impact

  • Victories
  • Stories
  • Facts
  • Trump, Here's a Better Use for $25 Billion

  • Here's How We're Going to Build the Clean Energy Revolution

  • How a California Activist Learned to Think Locally

Keep drinking water safe and affordable for everyone.

Take Action
food & water watch logo
en Español

Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold & uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

Food & Water Watch is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Food & Water Action is a 501(c)4 organization.

Food & Water Watch Headquarters

1616 P Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20036

Main: 202.683.2500

Contact your regional office.

Work with us: See all job openings

  • Problems
    • Broken Democracy
    • Climate Change & Environment
    • Corporate Control of Food
    • Corporate Control of Water
    • Factory Farming & Food Safety
    • Fracking
    • GMOs
    • Global Trade
    • Pollution Trading
  • Solutions
    • Advocate Fair Policies
    • Legal Action
    • Organizing for Change
    • Research & Policy Analysis
  • Our Impact
    • Facts
    • Stories
    • Victories
  • Take Action
    • Get Active Where You Live
    • Organizing Tools
    • Find an Event
    • Volunteer with Us
    • Live Healthy
    • Donate
  • Give
    • Give Now
    • Give Monthly
    • Give a Gift Membership
    • Membership Options
    • Fundraise
    • Workplace Giving
    • Planned Giving
    • Other Ways to Give
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Learn more about Food & Water Action www.foodandwateraction.org.
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • 2021 © Food & Water Watch
  • www.foodandwaterwatch.org
  • Terms of Service
  • Data Usage Policy