Food & Water Watch Hands Petition to Members of Congress Calling for Continued Ban on Chinese Chicken
2009-09-15
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Tony Corbo
Rich Bindell (202) 683-2500
Food & Water Watch Hands Petition to Members of Congress Calling for Continued Ban on Chinese Chicken
Consumer Group Warns of Dangers from Lack of Food Safety Inspection System, Seeks to Correct Flawed Legislation
Washington, D.C. – Food & Water Watch today handed a petition containing over 17,000 signatures from all 50 states to members of Congress and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), calling for the continued ban on processed poultry imports from China. The petition was delivered to Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Mark L. Pryor (D-AR), and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. Kohl and DeLauro are co-chairs of the joint House-Senate conference committee that is considering the ban.
In July, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to maintain a ban on imported processed poultry products from China that has been in effect since December 2007. However, under pressure from agribusiness interests, the Senate included language that would, in effect, lift the ban. Food & Water Watch supports the House version (H.R. 2997).
In a letter that accompanied the petition, Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter warned of the dangers from deficiencies in the Chinese food safety inspection system.
“The People’s Republic of China’s food safety system is virtually non-existent. Officials of its own Health Ministry recently described food safety in that country as ‘grim, with high risks and contradictions.’ We need to ensure that China’s food safety laws and regulations meet U.S. standards,” said Hauter.
In 2009, over 600 shipments of food from China were blocked from coming into the U.S., including fish, cookies, candy, crackers, juice, tea, canned and dried vegetables, and spices. The reasons for rejection weren't reassuring: contamination with melamine or banned chemicals; pesticide residues and unsafe additives; and conditions inspectors described as "poisonous" and "filthy." Recently the Chinese government announced that food poisoning cases in China were up 40 percent from last year.
Hauter testified in July before the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations, and recommended that USDA start its review process completely from scratch in granting China equivalency status before importing processed poultry products because the original determination made by USDA was flawed and rushed through the regulatory process.
To view the letter that accompanies the petition, please visit: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/press/releases/chinesechicken.pdf.
Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit consumer organization based in Washington, D.C., works to ensure clean water and safe food in the United States and around the world. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink. For more information, visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org.
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