The illegal pork discovered by border agents from China could lead to fines for the importer of the products.
However, the exporter, being China, is not likely to be penalized, according to officials, who say “It’s very difficult to penalize an exporting country,” adding “You have to have a very large burden of proof to prove what they’re doing,” as reported by Reuters.
The U.S. and other nations remain on high alert to illegal imports of pork from nations with African swine fever.
Customs Border and Protection say the shipment recently found included pork, but not all items in the one-million-pound shipment were pork, as previously announced.
The containers seized also had noodles and tea bags that were used to facilitate the unlawful import of pork products.
Because China has wide-spread African swine fever, U.S. agriculture and border officials say the imported pork may contain the virus, which is a threat to the U.S. pork industry.
However, the U.S. will not test the product to confirm that, as officials say all products found in violation of U.S. regulations are destroyed.