FIVE PORK PLANTS RELISTED

UNCLAS MOSCOW 000954 SENSITIVE SIPDIS USDA FAS FOR OCRA/KUYPERS, NENON; OSTA/BEAN, HAXTON; ONA/TING, SALLYARDS PASS FSIS DUTROW, HARRIES PASS APHIS SNOWDON STATE FOR EUR/RUS STATE PASS USTR FOR CHATTIN, HAFNER, SMURPHY BRUSSELS PASS APHIS/FERNANDEZ VIENNA PASS APHIS/MITCHELL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ETRD ECON WTO RS SUBJECT: FIVE PORK PLANTS RELISTED REF: A) MOSCOW 939 B) MOSCOW 267 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On April 10, 2009, the Head of Russian Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) advised via official letter that VPSS will be relisting five pork facilities which were delisted in the January 27, 2009, letter from Vlasov to Jones (Reftel B) (facilities #18674, 9201, 18079, 18435, and 27398.) The relistings are in response to additional information provided by the companies and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and will become effective on April 15, 2009. An unofficial translation of the letter follows. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) BEGIN TEXT: Moscow, April 10, 2009 No. FS-SD-2/3169 Dr. Ronald K. Jones Assistant Administrator Office of International Affairs USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Dear Dr. Jones, The Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) extends its regards to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA and in response to your letters of February 12, 2009, February 26, 2009, and March 10, 2009, informs you of the following. Taking into account the results of conducted investigation at the establishments # 18674, 9201, 18079, 18435, and 27398, that have been temporally restricted by VPSS starting from February 10, 2009, due to detecting gross violations of the Russian regulation when shipping products of animal origin from the U.S. to the Russian Federation, and also taking into account guarantees from FSIS that these establishments will fulfill the necessary activities that allow to mitigate to minimum or prevent further mistakes in the veterinary certificates, VPSS considers it possible to lift temporal restrictions from these establishments starting from April 15, 2009. In case recurring violations are detected during veterinary control by territorial directorates of VPSS at the border, the above mentioned establishments will be delisted from the approved list of the U.S. establishments eligible to export their products to the Russian Federation. Along with that we would like to inform you that according to clarifications we have received from the representatives of the facilities 85B, 85O, the sales of their products are implemented through broker companies, that can sell the product further either on domestic or foreign markets, therefore, it is impossible to track down whether veterinary documentation is being processed correctly. This information testifies that these facilities lack system approach in preparation of the products that are destined for export to the Russian Federation and compliance to the Russian veterinary sanitary requirements and norms. In connection with this, we believe it is premature to lift temporally restrictions form the above mentioned facilities. Dr. Jones, let me assure you of my highest esteem. Head C.A. Dankvert END TEXT ¶3. (SBU) Out of the nine companies that were originally delisted for clerical errors in the January 27, 2009 letter, only two remain ineligible to ship to Russia. BEYRLE