Russian agency criticizes U.S. plans to entrust veterinary inspections to private firms
MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) has expressed anxiety at plans to reduce the personnel of the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and commission private companies to do sanitary inspections of poultry producers.
Cutting FSIS' staff of inspectors would save $30 million per year, a Rosselkhoznadzor statement cited American media and governmental organizations as saying.
However, members of the U.S. Congress have expressed fear the reform would negatively affect food safety control and the industry's personnel, according to the Rosselkhoznadzor statement.
American nongovernmental organizations defending consumer rights have also expressed concern, the Russian agency said.
Rosselkhoznadzor said international law mandates that a country authorize its state veterinary service to be sole safety guarantor of its animal products.
Rosselkhoznadzor spokesman Alexei Alexeyenko told Interfax that so far the agency had received no official notification from the United States about the planned FSIS personnel cuts.
Alexeyenko mentioned a similar reform carried out in the Netherlands several years ago. "This year it has been decided to drop it as ineffective because private companies can't be safety guarantors on behalf of the state," he said.
Alexeyenko said the Dutch veterinary service had notified Rosselkhoznadzor about the abolition of that system.