U.S. chicken passed fit for Russian consumers

Russian vets have added seven U.S. companies to their approved list of the country's poultry suppliers.

The Russian service for Federal Veterinary Oversight made the decision following inspections at U.S. poultry slaughterhouses, processing plants, and storage facilities. The U.S. has guaranteed its exports will comply with Russian standards.

Russia, one of the biggest buyers of American chicken, imported over 716,000 tonnes of poultry from the country in the first ten months of 2007.

The import value topped $US 612 million over this period.