Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 12/27/11

Japan has lifted a ban on imports of poultry originating in North Carolina that stemmed from concerns over low-pathogenic avian influenza in that state, according to an update on USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service website.

FSIS said Japan will now accept poultry slaughtered in North Carolina prior to Feb. 9, 2011, and on or after Dec. 21, 2011. Poultry that was slaughtered between those dates is ineligible for export.

Japan and Russia halted poultry imports from North Carolina earlier this year after initial tests in a single flock of turkeys in North Carolina were positive for low-pathogenic avian influenza. 

Russia lifted its ban in June.
 

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