USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported last week that Federal agents had seized and destroyed more than 1,900 pounds of prohibited pork, poultry and ruminant products from New York City-area retailers in the past three months. Smuggling of prohibited foreign food products into the U.S. does pose a threat to U.S. agriculture, but USDA and other agencies are working to reduce that threat.
Jenny Moffitt, Under Agriculture Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, explains how the threat of African Swine Fever being brought into the U.S. is one reason for preventing prohibited foreign food items from entering our country.
Various tips from citizens sometimes help authorities to stop the smuggling of prohibited food items.