US, Mexican Facilities Approved for Meat Export

The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement on approving a significant number of meat processing and storage facilities for export. The US Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) and Mexico's food safety agency, SAGARPA, have been involved in ongoing discussions over the past 18 months to resolve this issue.

In the US, discussions have involved 109 US meat industry facilities, of which 52 have now been approved for export and another 57 facilities that are expected to be approved in the coming week. For SAGARPA's list of approved facilities, click here.

This action comes on the heels of approval by SAGARPA of administrative changes at 32 US facilities. These administrative changes, which might involve plant name changes or other paperwork issues, had the potential to create export delays at the border.

In Mexico, 13 facilities have been approved, although four of those approvals are pending corrective action. This will bring the total of Mexican meat facilities approved for exporting to the United States to more than 30.

USDA is hoping to schedule additional technical meetings in the next week or so to address cross border issues, re-listing of plants and other technical issues.

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