Mexico Voluntarily Halts Meat Shipments to U.S.

WASHINGTON — Mexico has voluntarily suspended shipments of meat and processed poultry to the United States after U.S. officials raised concerns about the quality of Mexican food processing and inspections, an Agriculture Department official said Thursday.

The department's Food Safety and Inspection Service identified systemic problems with sanitation controls and record-keeping during an annual audit that took place in Mexico between June 24 and July 31.

The voluntary suspension began Aug. 29, said Amanda Eamich, a spokeswoman for the service. About 2 percent of beef and poultry in the U.S. comes from Mexican producers.

"Safety concerns in multiple establishments were not identified by Mexican in-plant inspection personnel, demonstrating that Mexico's system to verify its plants were producing safe food in a clean facility was insufficient," Eamich said.

She said the audit report would be posted on the agency's Web site within 60 days.

Source: The Associated Press