3-12 news: Russia approves pork imports from 11 plants
"It is happening as we speak," U.S. Meat Export Federation spokesman Jim Herlihy told Reuters. The industry group also said more plants may be approved. Smithfield Foods Inc. also confirmed that Russia will resume imports from its Tar Heel, N.C., plant, which is the world’s largest pork plant.
Russia has been given assurance that the U.S. meat will be free of an antibiotic that violated the country’s food safety rules. The USDA has listed 10 slaughter plants that were eligible to export product to Russia, because they are participating in an “export verification program” to test for residues.