Another Senator Urges Caution on Smithfield’s Sale to Chinese Company

Another prominent lawmaker is publicly urging regulators to carefully review Smithfield Foods‘ planned $4.7 billion sale to Shuanghui International, one of China’s biggest meat producers.

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan and the chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said on Wednesday that she still had concerns about any potential effect that the deal may have on food safety in the United States. Like other critics, she pointed to possible lapses in food quality, citing incidents of Chinese companies that illegally added chemicals like clenbuterol to their meat and the images of thousands of dead hogs floating down the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

“The agencies responsible for approving this possible merger must take China’s and Shuanghui’s troubling track record on food safety into account and do everything in their power to ensure our national security and the health of our families is not jeopardized,” she said in a statement.

Ms. Stabenow also noted that, if completed, the deal with Shuanghui would be the biggest ever acquisition of an American company by a Chinese concern.

Smithfield and Shuanghui have both insisted that there is no danger that Smithfield’s food safety procedures would be compromised. The intent behind the transaction is to increase exports of United States pork to China, and not the reverse.

“This is an export deal, and they are very interested in exporting products out of the U.S.,” C. Larry Pope, Smithfield’s chief executive, previously told DealBook.

Many experts on the national-security process have said that they expect the deal to pose few issues for the government panel reviewing the deal, formally known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or Cfius.

But Ms. Stabenow’s criticisms mesh with cautionary comments by other lawmakers. Senator Charles Grassley, Republican of Iowa, issued a long statement when the deal was announced, urging a close review by the Justice Department and Cfius.

“No one can deny the unsafe tactics used by some Chinese food companies,” Mr. Grassley said. “And to have a Chinese food company controlling a major U.S. meat supplier, without shareholder accountability, is a bit concerning.”

Representative Rosa DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut, took a more skeptical tone in raising the food-safety issue.

“This merger may only make it more difficult to protect the food supply,” she said in a statement. “I have deep doubts about whether this merger best serves American consumers and urge federal regulators to put their concerns first.”

And Representative Randy Forbes, the Republican who represents Smithfield’s home district in Virginia, has adopted a stern outlook as well.

“I’ve been concerned for a long time that we could wake up one day and be as dependent on foreign food as we are today on foreign oil, and we should never be in that position,” Mr. Forbes told reporters recently, according to The Daily Beast. “I’ve seen that as a national-security issue for some time.”

Other Virginia lawmakers have been quiet on the issue. Asked about the Smithfield deal, an aide to one politician responded to a reporter’s inquiry only with “没有评论,” which translates roughly to “no comment.”