Dive Summary:
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued Arkansas' congressional delegation a noticed Tuesday informing them that China halted imports of poultry products from the state.
- Sen. Mark Pryor called China's poultry import ban "unfair," saying it was related to an unnamed "isolated incident"—though a potential reason is a June instance of a chicken on a Scott County farm testing positive for a low-pathogenic strain of H7N7 avian flu.
- Other states on the banned list include Wisconsin, New York, Virginia, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Texas; Japan and Russia have also reportedly banned Arkansas poultry.
From the article:
... Arkansas is the nation's second-largest poultry producer, behind Georgia. China had also blocked imports previously over avian flu concerns.
"All poultry and poultry products shipped from the State of Arkansas on or after July 22, 2013, are ineligible for export (to China)," the USDA said in a notice on its food safety website that was dated Monday. ...