China has announced it is banning all imports of U.S. poultry, poultry products and eggs as a result of strains of avian influenza found in the Pacific Northwest. The ban went into effect on Jan. 8, Reuters reports, and all products that were shipped from the United States after that date would be destroyed or returned.
In a joint announcement posted on official websites in China, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) imposed nationwide restrictions on imports of processed and unprocessed U.S. poultry and eggs, said the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council. The ban also applies to breeding stock, which includes live chicks and hatching eggs.