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Mexico Halts Shipments From Top US Meat Plants
Move is seen as retaliation for country-of-origin labeling initiative
By Nick McMaster
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Posted Dec 26, 08 5:10 PM CST
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(Newser)
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Mexico has temporarily banned meat from 30 US plants run by some of the largest American meat companies, Reuters reports. The Mexican government says violations in standards of packaging, labeling, and transport conditions occasioned the ban, but many US analysts suspect Mexico is registering its dissatisfaction with an American law that could hurt sales of meat originating in Mexico.
Mexico said that if changes were made, the affected plants could be re-listed next week. Under the Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) law, meat for sale in US supermarkets must bear a sticker stating the country the animals were raised in. The governments of Mexico and Canada have objected to the law, fearing irrational discrimination against meat raised outside the US.