The two biggest U. S. poultry producers have proposed programs for rearing poultry in line with Russian requirements, Russia's food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said on Friday.
The Koch Poultry and Mountaire Farms firms presented the programs at a meeting with Rosselkhoznadzor head Sergei Dankvert.
Under the program, the U.S. companies will provide information about the antibiotic residue content in all poultry they export to Russia.
The management of the companies said they were ready to provide additional data about production if necessary.
"The information provided will be carefully studied by Rosselkhoznadzor experts," the watchdog said.
Dankvert will meet with the management of another U. S. poultry company, Peco Foods on Saturday. The U.S. Sanders Poultry company has also requested a meeting with the Rosselkhoznadzor head.
Russia banned imports of U.S. chlorine-treated poultry as of January 1, citing new safety requirements. Washington, which accounted for some 20 percent of poultry consumed in Russia in 2009, says the move will damage the U.S. poultry industry and push prices up for Russian consumers.
U.S. poultry has traditionally accounted for almost 80 percent of Russia's total poultry imports. Russia's 2010 import quota on poultry from the United States is 600,000 tons.
In late June, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barrack Obama announced that Moscow and Washington had agreed to remove obstacles to U.S. exports to Russia and restart U.S. poultry supplies to Russia.
MOSCOW, August 13 (RIA Novosti)
