By Alabama Public Radio
Washington, DC – The federal Agriculture Department wants to import poultry that's processed in China. But thousands of birds and several people have died there from bird flu, and some U-S poultry producers are asking the department to drop the proposal. They're concerned about how the chicken trade with China would affect perceptions of chicken safety here. But the proposal wouldn't accept Chinese chickens. China would have to process poultry slaughtered in the U-S or other countries from which the U-S accepts poultry. Alabama has the country's third largest poultry industry behind Georgia and Arkansas.