China has put a stop to Canadian pork and beef product imports.

A statement issued from China's Embassy says China has requested the Canadian Government suspend the issuance of certificates for meat exported to China following an investigation of pork products.

In the Embassy's response posted on their website Tuesday, June 25, they say an investigation was conducted by the Canadian side, after Chinese custom authorities found ractopamine residues in a batch of pork products exported from Canada into China, which immediately resulted in the Canadian company having its imports suspended.

Ractopamine is a feed additive banned in China.

"The subsequent investigation revealed that the official veterinary health certificates attached to the batch of pork exported to China were counterfeit and the number of those forgery certificates was up to 188," the statement reads. "These forged certificates were sent to the Chinese regulatory authorities through Canadian official certificate notification channel, which reflects that the Canadian meat export supervision system exists obvious safety loopholes."

As a result, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has stopped issuing export certificated to China for all pork and beef products as of June 25.

The Alberta Government says they're supportive of Canadian and Chinese officials working together to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.

Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Devin Dreeshen, says they'll continue to stand with farmers, following the Provincial Government receiving notification China is temporarily suspending Canadian export certificates for beef and pork.

In a release Tuesday June 25, Dreeshen says he's spoken with his Federal Counterpart, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, as well as industry stakeholders to reinforce his Government's priority will be to protect producers during this difficult time.

"The Premier has spoken with Bill Morneau, federal Minister of Finance, and shared our disappointment with this action and the impacts it will have on farmers," he said.

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