AQSIQ VICE MINISTER DISCUSSES SALMONELLA AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 006347 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS EAP/PD FOR NIDA EMMONS HHS FOR OGHA/STEIGER AND PASS TO FDA/LUMPKIN USDA FOR FSIS/RAYMOND USDA FOR FAS OA/YOST, OCRA/ALEXANDER, OSTA/BRANT AND SHNITZLER COMMERCE FOR ITA/HIJIKATA AND CINO STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR NHTSA ABRAHAM/KRATZKE STATE PASS CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION RICH O'BRIEN/INTL PROGRAMS STATE PASS USTR CHINA OFFICE/TIM WINELAND STATE PASS OMB/INT'L AFFAIRS STATE PASS HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL STATE PASS IMPORT SAFETY WORKING GROUP E.O. 12958: n/a TAGS: TBIO EAGR ECON ETRD BEXP CH SUBJECT: AQSIQ VICE MINISTER DISCUSSES SALMONELLA AND SOYBEANS Ref: A. Beijing 3252 ¶B. Beijing 3406 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspecion, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) Vice Minister Wei Cuanzhong discussed with FAS Mincouns September 26 the issue of poultry import restrictions in both countries, salmonella-contaminated Chinese fish exports, possible contamination of recent U.S. soybean shipments to China, and the negative test results of China's pet food testing for melamine. The conversation occurred during a four-day AQSIQ-sponsored visit to food, textile, and toy processing and manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, as well as to local AQSIQ (or "CIQ") offices and laboratories in the province. FAS Mincouns, Guangzhou econoff, and Beijing econoff participated in the visit (septel). As they have in past meetings, both sides acknowledged that cooperation and communication are key to resolving differences. VM Wei announced that a Food Safety Summit will be held in Beijing late November, possibly timed to coincide with a visit by the EU Commissioner and other EU officials at that time, but did not provide further details. End Summary. Poultry and Aquaculture: The Salmonella Connection -------------- ¶2. (SBU) FAS Mincouns in a September 26 meeting with Vice Minister Wei expressed concern about the delisting of poultry plants because of pathogens and suspension of seven U.S. states as eligible to export poultry to China because of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI). Wei said that the two sides addressed this issue in September's food safety bilaterals in Washington and in recent USDA meetings with AQSIQ Minister Li Changjiang. AQSIQ's Bureau of Import/Export Food Safety is considering science-based ways to address the issue, Wei said, noting that the root of the problem is the difference in national standards. Mincouns suggested that AQSIQ consider two possible solutions: (1) the adoption of U.S. testing procedures for salmonella, or (2) the adoption of a model similar to what USDA has implemented with Russia for pathogen sampling and testing methodology. ¶3. (SBU) Vice Minister Wei, in turn, expressed concern about the lack of movement of China's 2004 request to export poultry to the United States and pending U.S. legislation that would preemptively restrict those exports. Wei said the United States indicated in 2004 that they would need 5 months to review the import of Chinese poultry, but said that China was informed during the food safety bilaterals that the rule was still in USDA's clearance procedures. ¶4. (SBU) On aquaculture, Import and Export Food Safety Bureau Deputy Director General Li Chaowei noted that, like U.S. poultry exports to China, China's aquaculture exports to the United States sometimes contain salmonella, leading to the detention or destruction of those imports. Li acknowledged that salmonella in aquaculture products, as in poultry, could be eliminated by the consumer through the cooking process. He suggested that a bilateral discussion of salmonella be broadened to include both aquaculture and poultry products. Offering to follow-up on this issue upon return to Beijing, Mincouns stated that this kind of cooperation exemplifies the cooperation the two sides should have on these kinds of complex issues. Soybean Contamination BEIJING 00006347 002 OF 003 -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Regarding China's possible detection of live Trogoderma granarium beetles, other live insects, and quarantine weeds such as Ambrosia sp. in recent U.S. soybean shipments to Guangzhou, Mincouns noted that Trogoderma granarium is not known to occur in United States, but is suspected to be found in Asia. He assured VM Wei that U.S. researchers and entomologists were taking this very seriously and, after studying the alleged infestation, would inform the Chinese side of results, cautioning that the contamination may be from the shipping container. VM Wei emphasized that the increase in importation of U.S. soybeans, totaling 13 million tons in 2006, could naturally lead to an increase in the detection of problems. AQSIQ wants to cooperate with the United States to resolve this issue and has made the deliberate decision not to notify the press or the public about the issue to give the two sides time to resolve it. VM Wei said he would ask the AQSIQ research team to speed up their efforts. AQSIQ Department for Supervision on Animal and Plant Quarantine Assistant Counsel and Senior Veterinarian Feng Xueping noted that Trogoderma granarium could pose a serious threat to Chinese agriculture. Melamine Revisited and Bonsai Trees -------------- ¶6. (SBU) On the issue of melamine contamination of pet food, Feng said that no U.S. or Chinese analyses had discovered melamine in pet food and he lamented the fact that Wal-Mart had voluntarily removed Chinese manufactured pet food from its shelves. Some veterinarians, he noted, believe that the pet deaths in spring 2007 may have been caused by coliforms such as e-coli. Mincouns said he would pass this information to HHS Attache and encouraged AQSIQ to communicate research results and information on critical issues to both HHS/FDA and FAS/APHIS offices at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to ensure timely treatment of sensitive issues. ¶7. (SBU) Division of Foreign Affairs Director General Qi Xiuqin expressed concern about U.S. standards on bonsai trees, which Qi said were ten years in the making. Without elaborating, she said that China's bonsai exporters are unable to meet the U.S. standards. ¶8. (U) List of Participants: Chinese Participants: Vice Minister Wei Chuanzhong, AQSIQ Feng Xueping, Assistant Counsel, Senior Veterinarian, Department for Supervision on Animal and Plant Quarantine, AQSIQ Qi Xiuqin, Director General, Division of Foreign Affairs, AQSIQ Li Chaowei, Deputy Director General, Import and Export Food Safety Bureau, AQSIQ Ma Wenxiu, Director, Division of Foreign Affairs, AQSIQ Fan Leilei, Division of Foreign Affairs U.S. Participants: FAS Minister Counselor Bill Westman Guangzhou Econ Officer Nolan Barkhouse Beijing Econ Officer Michael Pignaello BEIJING 00006347 003 OF 003 RANDT