By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Canadian Federal Ag Minister Gerry Ritz announced Tuesday that exporters are responsible for satisfying the new Russian requirement for beef and pork meat products for zero residue of the feed additive ractopamine. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has provided meat processors with a set of testing guidelines to meet the new Russian meat export requirements. "At this point, we're making sure the Russians understand this is not science-based," Ritz said at an unrelated news conference in Winnipeg. "There is an agreement around the world that ractopamine is a safe and usable product."Russia’s request is that beef and pork products being imported from both Canada and the U.S. to be free ractopamine as of Dec 7. Canada has requested that Russia delay the new regulatory requirement until February.