USMEF Joins USDA, USAPEEC for Outreach Sessions with Chinese Inspectors

Along with USDA and the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council (USAPEEC), USMEF recently completed a U.S. pork and poultry food safety outreach tour with front-line Chinese inspectors in the key ports of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Tianjin. Coordinated by USDA’s Office of Agricultural Affairs in Beijing and the Guangzhou and Shanghai Agricultural Trade Offices, the day-long sessions involved presentations by FSIS on its meat and poultry inspection program and its testing programs and standards.

USMEF Director of Export Services Kevin Smith provided an overview of the U.S. red meat industry and its focus on product safety and integrity while fielding questions from Chinese inspectors on topical red meat trade issues such as China’s new labeling requirements and the ongoing impasse over ractopamine residues. In addition, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service and FSIS presented updates of its electronic documentation initiatives. This was of particular interest to the inspection staff, as China has repeatedly urged the United States to embrace e-documentation for its pork and poultry shipments.

In addition to the U.S. presentations, Chinese port officials provided overviews of their inspection protocols and highlighted shifting trends in importation. Tianjin port officials, for example, noted a marked increase in meat and poultry imports, noting that 100,000 metric tons had been imported during the first half of 2011 – already surpassing 80 percent of the total imported all of last year. Pork’s percentage of these imports has increased, as large Chinese meat processors have shifted more of their importing activity to this northern port. Officials also reported a higher percentage of pork muscle cuts in the import mix, and expect even higher volumes for the remainder of the year. According to its official statistics for the first half of the year, China imported approximately 777,000 tons of beef, pork, lamb and poultry from the 15 countries eligible to ship these products to China, which is 11 percent higher than the pace established a year ago.

China maintains 35 entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureaus in 31 provinces with nearly 30,000 port employees. These quarantine bureaus answer to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in Beijing, which is the ministerial administrative institution operating directly under the State Council. Besides monitoring food imports and exports and setting import policies such as China’s new meat labeling rule, AQSIQ is also in charge of export plant accreditation, standardization of regulations and various policing functions.

“These outreach sessions provided the U.S. delegation with valuable feedback on compliance issues with U.S. shipments,” said Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asia Pacific.

For example, Chinese officials at all ports reported that some U.S. pork shipments arriving in Chinese ports with health certificates dated after the June 1 implementation date for the new labeling regulations were still not in compliance. China’s new labeling regulations stipulate that additional information must be added to the new outer carton and inner labels in order to enhance traceability and to prevent document fraud. Chinese port officials also raised questions on procedures for issuing in-lieu-of health certificates.

While China remains closed to U.S. beef, U.S. pork exports there have achieved great success in 2011. Through June, pork and pork variety meat exports to China totaled 122,880 metric tons (271 million pounds) valued at $188.7 million. This is by far the best pace exports to China have achieved since 2008, when pork trade with China reached an all-time high. State and national grain checkoff funding supported USMEF’s involvement in this outreach program. Additional contributions were provided by USDA, USAPEEC and the Food and Agricultural Export Alliance (FAEA).