Kazakhstan upgrades poultry import controls

Kazakhstan will improve the system of state veterinary control over poultry imports, as potentially hazardous produce is still entering the country’s market, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture have reported.

Recently about 52 tonnes of substandard poultry were destroyed following veterinary inspections in Kazakhstan, the deputy chairman of the veterinary control and supervision committee, Serik Sapargaliyev announced.

“The inspections found that the imported poultry often did not meet the requirements of the technical regulations, had inconsistent labels with no or incorrect information in Kazakh language and its manufacture and expiration date are not indicated,” Sapargaliyev said.

Meanwhile, according to Sapargaliyev , there is a shortage of inspectors and a lack of accredited laboratories in Kazakhstan. This causes ineffective implementation of technical regulation functions by the Technical Regulation Committee.

According to the current regulations of the Customs Union, Kazakhstan imports poultry from 30 companies of third countries, however it is unknown from which country the hazardous poultry was imported.