Asia Times: Chinese chicken imports lay an egg in Switzerland


	April 18, 2002	atimes.com

China

Chinese chicken imports lay an egg in Switzerland
By Alexander Casella

The Swiss government has lifted its temporary ban on the importing of chicken from China that had come into effect on February 22. The ban was enforced after the Swiss Health Authority had determined that a significant amount of chicken imported from China carried traces of antibiotics far in excess of accepted doses.

In mid-February, the Swiss Health Authority had undertaken a comprehensive testing of chicken imports. While 96 percent of the tested samples conformed to Swiss health standards, three samples from Hungary, one from Brazil and six from China did not. The six samples from China that did not conform were part of a lot of 50 samples of Chinese origin. Among the six non-conforming samples, four carried traces of enrofloxacine in doses that corresponded to twice the maximun accepted standard. In two other samples, traces of chloramphenicol were detected. Chloramphenicol is an effective antibiotic but its potential side-effects are so serious that it is banned in Switzerland.

After the testing, the Swiss government imposed a temporary ban on the import of chicken from China and subjected subsequent imports to a process of certification to ensure that they conformed to Swiss health standards. While most of the Swiss importers who had stocks of Chinese chicken in their warehouses when the ban came into force could have submitted them for testing, they ultimately preferred to destroy the stocks so as to not erode consumer conficence. This decision met with widespread support among the consumer associations, who now claim that they will focus more their attention on Chinese food imports.

Chicken imports from China correspond to some 40 percent of chicken consumption in Switzerland and are estimated at some 13,000 tons per year. The two main importers, COOP and Migros, are known to have been highly selective with regard to the chicken farms from which they buy in China. Import sources, however, have indicated that while they are in in a position to inspect chicken production facilities in China regularly to ensure that they conform with minimum health standards in terms of cleanliness, they obviously cannot control what the chickens are fed. Importers believe that some chicken farms tried to cut corners and fed their chickens excessive doses of antibiotics so as to reduce losses due to disease.

While the Swiss government has lifted its ban on the import of Chinese chicken, it has done so on two conditions. The first provides that importers must now more regularly inspect production sites in China. The second requires that the number of samples of Chinese chicken that are due for inspection be sharply increased.

For COOP, which was the second-largest importer of Chinese chicken on the Swiss market, these measures will be irrelevant. Faced with widespread erosion of consumer confidence in Chinese chicken, COOP has decided that it will no longer import chicken from China and will now only deal with European producers.

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