According to Eugenio Salinas, President of Meat Council, a major Mexican meat producers association, meat and processed poultry shipments to the US will soon restart.
Several weeks ago, US officials discovered safety problems at several Mexican meat plants: US inspectors found systemic problems with sanitation controls and record keeping during an annual audit that took place in Mexico a the end of June.
In the light of these facts, Mexico voluntarily decided to suspend shipments of meat and processed poultry to the US. "It was a voluntary and precautionary suspension," declared Eugenio Salinas, Meat Council President.
Salinas has stated that US inspectors are currently in Mexico to check whether the problems have been sorted out, but Mexican government has told the Meat Council it could begin issuing export permits as of this month.
Mexico produces 1.6 million tonnes of meat per year – mostly for national consumption. It exports approximately 20,000 tonnes to the US yearly.
