China suspended exports from two Logansport facilities this week after reportedly finding traces of a feed additive used to increase hogs' growth.
The country requires its meat imports to be free of ractopamine, a chemical fed to finishing hogs to boost pigs' growth and lean muscle mass. Meatingplace reported China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine sent a notice to the U.S. Embassy's Office of Agricultural Affairs in Beijing announcing the suspension.
Six major U.S. pork plants and six cold storage facilities, including Tyson Fresh Meats and Hanson Cold Storage Co. in Logansport, are included in the ban. Other facilities are located in Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois and Kansas. All told, three Tyson plants are under the ban.
Consumer Reports and other sources estimate as many as 60 to 80 percent of pigs raised in the U.S. are fed ractopamine. The drug is marketed under the name Paylean by Elanco, an Eli Lilly company.
The Humane Society of the United States has pushed for eliminating ractopamine's use. According to information published on its website, the drug is already banned or restricted in about 160 nations, including members of the European Union and Russia as well as China.
A Tyson spokesman couldn't say how much of the meat processed at the Logansport plant was normally shipped to China, since the company doesn't break out numbers for exports to specific countries from any of its plants.
"We're confident about the safety and quality of our pork and will work with the USDA to try to resolve China's concerns," said Worth Sparkman, public relations manager for Tyson Foods. "In the meantime, we'll find other markets for our products."
A vice president of Hanson Logistics, parent company of Hanson Cold Storage Co., did not return voicemail messages left requesting comment.