U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) officials are seizing record amounts of illegal meat products from China at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Between October and December 2021, agents seized more than 262,000 pounds of prohibited pork, chicken, beef, and duck products. This was a 33 percent increase from the year before, officials reported March 14. Illegal meat imports from China reached a peak in 2021, when agents at the twin Southern California ports uncovered nearly 787,000 pounds, representing an 80 percent increase from the year before. “Preventing the introduction of foreign contagious animal diseases and noxious pests at our nation’s largest seaport is paramount and vital to our agriculture industry and the well-being of the communities we serve,” Carlos Martel, CBP director of field operations in Los Angeles, said in a statement. When illegally shipped meat is intercepted, Customs and Border Patrol either destroys it or sends …