by Sarah Zimmerman, Editor, Agriculture Dive
China has banned meat exports from a West Coast cold storage facility near the Port of Oakland after traces of the feed additive ractopamine were found in beef shipments, creating disruption at an important trade gateway to Asia.
The country suspended exports out of Cool Port Oakland on May 27, Agriculture Department records show. The ban occurred the same day China also restricted shipments from a JBS plant in Greeley, Colorado.
A spokesperson for the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement to Agriculture Dive that the restrictions were placed after China’s customs detected the feed additive ractopamine, which is banned in more than 150 countries, within shipments of frozen beef products from both facilities. The agency is conducting an investigation.
The ban on Cool Port Oakland has disrupted operations for meat exporters as far away as the Midwest who depend on the facility to transfer their freight from rail to ocean before it ships out of Oakland’s port to the final destination in Asia.
“China’s suspension of this cold storage facility has caused disruption for beef, pork and poultry exports,” Joe Schuele of the U.S. Meat Export Federation said in an email to Agriculture Dive. “Exporters must now utilize other facilities in the Bay Area.”
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