Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) no longer is chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, but from her current position as ranking member of the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, she is continuing her battle against imports of processed chicken from China .
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, DeLauro asks for details about the interim rule that USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has written to cover poultry and poultry product imports from countries with histories of outbreaks of avian influenza, including the People's Republic of China .
"While APHIS claims that this rule would prevent H5N1 from being introduced in the United States , I am concerned that this rule actually would ease APHIS prohibition on any poultry products coming in from countries that have had H5N1 outbreaks," DeLauro writes.
According to DeLauro, the rule represents a significant step towards importing poultry products from China into the United States , which was banned by Congress when she included a provision in earlier agriculture appropriations bills.
Most of her questions for APHIS officials involve details of the science-based information that was considered for the rule, under which poultry products from affected regions would be allowed provided they were cooked, and processed in eligible facilities, and how many USDA employees would be required to monitor whether poultry products were cooked to the minimum temperature.
