French producers of foie gras and charcuterie cried foul yesterday after America suspended imports of their delicacies due to food safety concerns, claiming they were the victims of a transatlantic trade vendetta.
The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service dropped the bombshell this week, saying that French plants failed to meet American sanitation standards.
The French producers were quick to point out that the Americans announced the suspension immediately after the European Commission slapped a temporary ban on imports of American eggs and live poultry, due to an outbreak of bird flu in Texas.
“It is retaliation, plain and simple,” said Vincent Treille, vice-president of the foie gras producers’ organisation, Cifog, who wants to take the issue to the World Trade Organisation. “All they found were some paper irregularities. The real reasons are elsewhere.”