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FSIS issues health alert for illegal Chinese meat imports
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert for several imported meat products from China.
An ongoing investigation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service found 43 pork, beef, duck, and chicken products that do not identify an eligible establishment number on their packaging and were not presented to FSIS for import reinspection. Without FSIS re-inspection, these products are ineligible to import into the U.S. and considered unfit for human consumption. Also, USDA cannot confirm whether the products were properly heated to control pathogens that might affect domestic livestock.
There are no recalls of the products since USDA cannot identify the importers, so consumers are being asked to dispose of the food items properly and in a way that animals cannot access them. USDA’s photos of the product packages can be found here.
