Processed poultry shipments to US from China gets the axe
WASHINGTON - Spurred by concerns about bird flu, lawmakers voted Wednesday to block chicken processed in China from entering the United States.
The Bush administration had said last month that it would allow poultry processed in China, so long as it comes from birds raised and slaughtered in the United States, Read original story here . Agriculture Department officials said the meat would be fully cooked and perfectly safe.
DeLauro, the agriculture spending subcommittee‘s senior Democrat, mentioned a recent recall in Tennesee of chicken breast fillets, sold as fully cooked, that may have been undercooked.
“The public health risk increases exponentially when a product from China is undercooked, because the threat of avian flu is so high in that country,” she said.
The spending bill would provide $80 million to protect against bird flu, about $33 million less than what President Bush requested.
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