Russia"s chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko...
"They proposed meeting with us March 1-2. We confirmed our earlier voiced wish: we are ready at any moment, the sooner the better. They fly in on February 28, and I am ready to meet them on that day," he told RIA Novosti.
Russia banned imports of U.S. chlorine-treated poultry as of January 1, citing new safety requirements. Washington, which supplied 22% of poultry consumed in Russia last year, says the move will damage American poultry industry and push prices up for Russian consumers.
The new requirements, which apply to both imports and meat processed in Russia, state that the amount of chlorine in the solution used for the processing of poultry meat should not exceed the level set for drinking water, 0.3-0.5 milligrams per liter. They also state the fluid that separates when defrosting the meat should not exceed 4% of the total weight of the bird.
Chlorine in the United States has been used as the primary anti-microbial treatment for a quarter of a century.