USDA Lifts Ban on Chinese Processed Chicken ImportsHeather Callaghan Just before Labor Day weekend, the USDA quietly admitted that they have lifted the ban against processed chicken imports from China. This is of great concern for multiple reasons. Unfortunately, under their rules for processed chicken products there need not be any country-of-origin information on labels. So there is no way to know if youre eating products like chicken noodle soup, nuggets, or restaurant chicken ingredients from China, the U.S., orwhere? Just an educated guess, but these are likely to end up in school lunches as they are also likely to come cheaply. There will be four plants allowed to export processed chicken to begin with. They passed USDA in March, but apparently will receive no more inspection. Chinese imports arent really inspected in general; thats how arsenic ends up in apple juice, rice, and more. China uses pesticides that are either too heavy or not used as much in the U.S. thats the theory behind unsafe arsenic levels ending up in our imports. And we are none the wiser unless we get tests that can pick up those levels in us. And lets not forget other crude substances like lead. So to reassure us, the USDA has also admitted that they dont plan on having on-site inspectors. Nor are they planning to use inspectors for U.S. chicken anymore! They are taking the word of poultry processor employees. It will speed processing and its a great money saver. First we have bloated, burdensome regulatory rulesand then they can arbitrarily drop them because it saves them money. What do we pay them for again?? Heres a red flag: the Government Accountability Office reports that the USDA is doing a poor job with its pilot programs and hints that it is unlikely to improve with new programs or keep watch on deadly bacteria like Salmonella. But wait! Remember all those worldwide food poisonings that were questionably blamed on organic farms and mysteriously popped up right before the Food Safety Modernization Act was whisked on through? Its almost like the idea is to fail, to sicken people while demonizing peaceful raw milk farmers and organic/local, to keep distrust of the food system growing while keeping people dependent on it while they wait for global centralized food rules to save the day To keep from eating questionable foreign or domestic foods, it would be best to avoid all processed products and grocery items that come from big companies. You might find way more flavorful and nutritious fare at your local market or in a farm club. 20 Places to Find Local Food and Family Farms Near You Sources: Heather Callaghan is a natural health blogger and food freedom activist. You can see her work atNaturalBlaze.com and selfnewsPost.com. Like at Facebook. 