A recent article in the ChickenFacts newsletter (a platform that promotes the interests of chicken importers) claims the US poultry industry’s new self-imposed trade restrictions don’t compromise food safety or local biosecurity.
However, experts in the local industry warn that this policy shift to self-imposed trade restrictions could have devastating consequences for SA poultry producers and consumers.
Though ChickenFacts presents itself as a fact-checking and news resource, it is a sub-brand of the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters, and promotes trade-friendly narratives that benefit importers.
ChickenFacts assert that food safety standards still apply because only eligible states may export. US poultry must comply with SA’s food safety protocols, including a stricter-than-global 90-day waiting period after an outbreak before exports resume.
The US now manages its state-level flu restrictions and updates SA’s systems automatically — aiming to reduce trade delays. ChickenFacts calls this a “science-informed” and temporary arrangement, subject to review in 12 months, designed to protect food access without weakening biosecurity.
However, allowing American authorities to declare themselves bird flu-free with no independent SA verification represents a fundamental erosion of biosecurity protocols. It is a blatant conflict of interest and akin to putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.
Infected imported meat could slip through unnoticed, especially if economic or political incentives influence those declarations. Reintroducing avian influenza into SA, even through packaging or waste, could cripple domestic flocks. The last outbreak led to mass culling and nationwide egg shortages, costing the local poultry industry more than R9.5bn in losses.
Due to the domestic industry’s quick action, consumers were unaffected; our farmers and producers bore the brunt of this pain, with many operators still trying to recover. An outbreak sparked by imports would therefore be devastating.
Local producers face intense regulatory scrutiny and disease control costs. If US exporters can bypass equivalent oversight and flood the market with cheaper, potentially unsafe meat, the domestic industry will face job losses, closures and long-term structural damage.
Undermining local production for short-term import “efficiency” makes SA more vulnerable to foreign supply shocks, especially from a country where poultry exports are historically tied to trade politics. While the global spread of bird flu does demand agility and international co-operation, mutual trust cannot replace independent verification, and more so where it is a conflict of interest.
Government cannot abdicate its responsibilities to the people, and SA’s food safety and agricultural sovereignty must not be sacrificed for trade convenience. Speed must not come at the cost of safety. Flexibility must not replace accountability. And imports must never become a substitute for domestic resilience.
Francois Baird
Founder, FairPlay
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