A group from the Chinese Inspection and Quarantine Service tour the Port of New Orleans in July during a visit to the U.S. as part of an LSU AgCenter training program. Participants are, from left, David Picha, AgCenter International Programs director; Gary LaGrange, president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans; Robert Barkerding Jr., member of the port board of commissioners; and Xiaofan Chen, deputy general director of China Inspection and Quarantine Services. (Photo provided by David Picha, LSU AgCenter)

A group from the Chinese Inspection and Quarantine Service visit the U.S. as part of an LSU AgCenter training program led by AgCenter International Programs director David Picha, center in purple shirt. (Photo provided by David Picha, LSU AgCenter)

News Release Distributed 08/11/15

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter International Programs recently completed a two-week (July 18 to Aug. 2) cross-country training program on port inspection and food safety regulations for eight officials from China.

The group included personnel with the China Inspection and Quarantine Service in Guangdong Province, which oversees 25 percent of American agricultural imports into China, said David Picha, director of AgCenter International Programs. The visitors are fellows in the U.S. Department of Agriculture funded Cochran Fellowship Program, which educates public and private sector representatives from numerous countries about American agriculture and trade.

Picha led the fellows’ training, which focused on how U.S. product inspection and food safety regulations are created, monitored and enforced. They spent several days in the Washington, D.C., area for in-depth presentations and discussions at federal agencies and trade associations.

The group visited four major seaports – including Baltimore; New Orleans; Portland, Oregon; and Long Beach, California – and the Los Angeles airport.

“China is the largest trading partner for the United States, and enhancing their confidence in U.S. agricultural products is very important to American agriculture and export market development,” said Susan Karimiha, AgCenter International Programs coordinator. “The program allows officials to meet face-to-face in a training atmosphere. This helps build friendly relations and ties among officials from both the United States and China.”

One of the most important parts of the trip was giving the fellows a chance to observe the rigorous agricultural inspections that take place during production and at ports in the U.S., Picha said.

The fellows also attended the International Association for Food Protection conference and trade show on July 26 and 27 in Portland, Oregon.

“This event was an excellent forum for the Chinese delegation to meet and interact with the global food safety community and glean information on U.S. food safety laws, regulations, inspections and monitoring protocols,” Picha said.

Olivia McClure