China Suspends Canada Meat Imports Citing Forged Documents

  • China says the incident reflects ‘obvious safety loopholes’
  • Canadian government confirms ‘inauthentic export certificates’
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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China halted imports of Canadian meat after an investigation into traces of a banned feed additive led to the discovery of counterfeit health certificates attached to a pork shipment.

The forged documents were sent to Chinese regulatory authorities through Canada’s official certificate notification channel, which reflects “obvious safety loopholes,” the Chinese embassy in Canada said in a statement posted online. Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s minister of agriculture and agri-food, confirmed in an email that “inauthentic export certificates” were used.