Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 12/30/09

Russian officials said that effective Jan. 1 imports of poultry treated with chlorine from any country is prohibited, according to a report by Interfax News Agency.

"We have sent to the Federal Customs Service a letter in which we confirmed the final version of the requirement, according to which from 1 January the import of poultry treated with chlorine to the territory of our country will not be permitted," Gennadiy Onishchenko, head of the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Russia's chief public health officer, was quoted as saying.

The ban could completely rule out imports of U.S. poultry in 2010, estimated at some 500,000 metric tons, the report said.

"This is not a ban on anyone's quotas," Onishchenko is quoted as saying. "If you process poultry the way our national legislation requires then no one will object to its import."

Russia claims chlorine on poultry presents a danger to public health.

Onishchenko reportedly said most Russian establishments have switched their technology to treat birds with cold air and acid sprays instead of water solutions containing chlorine.

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