Continued concerns about Chinese products being sold in the U.S. now include poultry.

Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor was recognized in Washington today for his work on an agriculture appropriations bill that focuses on the use of appropriated funds from the Department of Agriculture for potential imports of poultry products from China.

"Food safety and trade are not mutually exclusive, and are in fact very important to the economy of Arkansas. We can have both as long as the USDA can do its job of policing imports to make sure they meet our food safety standards. Our agreement enables the government to protect Americans from unsafe foods under a rigorous and scientific process, while also giving China the same treatment as all other nations who seek to ship their meat and poultry products to the US," Pryor said in a statement. "I appreciate Representative Rosa DeLauro’s strong leadership on public health, and the USDA’s efforts to help forge a positive outcome on this matter."

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk today commended Pryor and other conferees on the bill, led by Rep. DeLauro, chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.

The conference agreement would allow USDA to use appropriated funds in FY 2010 to declare a rule allowing imports of processed poultry or poultry products from China only after the Secretary of Agriculture notifies Congress that certain conditions have been met. Click here for a full description from the House Appropriations website.

USDA worked with Rep. DeLauro to craft the final language, which ensures the protection of the nation's food supply in a manner consistent with scientific principles as required under U.S. international obligations. This result reflects the hard work and commitment of the Administration, Rep. De Lauro, Senator Pryor, and all House and Senate conferees.

"We commend the conferees for reaching an agreement that protects food safety and public health in a manner consistent with our international obligations," said Secretary Vilsack. "The agreement reached by the conferees will maintain the safety of our food supply and ensure that America takes a leadership role in supporting a science and rules-based trading system."

"We are pleased that the conferees were able to reach agreement on language that provides a strong means to address food safety concerns while recognizing the need to base health measures on scientific principles," said Ambassador Kirk. "The conferees have acted in Americans' best interests in two ways: by insisting on the safety of our food supply, and also by maintaining America's leadership in the rules-based global trading system."

Under U.S. law, poultry and poultry products may not be imported from any foreign country unless USDA determines that the food safety standards, facilities, and conditions of that country achieve a level of sanitary protection equivalent to that achieved by U.S. standards. If USDA determines that a country achieves this level of protection for some or all poultry products, it issues a rule permitting import of such products, subject to border inspection and other requirements.