* Consumer protection body says USAPEEC assurance not enough
* Russia animal protection body says no decision taken yet
* Spat comes as poultry imports resume after ban
(Adds comments from second watchdog)
By Aleksandras Budrys
MOSCOW, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Russia may take action against imports of U.S. poultry unless it receives more assurance that the birds are not contaminated with salmonella, the head of consumer protection watchdog RosPotrebNadzor told RIA news agency on Wednesday.
The USA Poultry and Egg Export Council on Tuesday assured Russia that U.S. poultry is safe and not affected by the salmonella outbreak that has forced the recall of more than a half billion U.S. table eggs. But RosPotrebNadzor's Gennady Onishchenko said this was not sufficient.
"We would like to receive an official response from the U.S. Agriculture Ministry as a state entity authorised to respond to the Russian side," he said. Failing that, the watchdog retains the right to take "adequate measures", RIA reported.
Russia recently began accepting U.S. poultry after banning it for much of the year, because the use of a chlorine disinfectant violated its food safety policy. U.S. producers shipping to Russia now use a different disinfectant.
Alexei Alexeyenko, a spokesman for the RosSelkhozNadzor animal and plant health watchdog, told Reuters that so far there had been no decision to suspend the imports again.
"We have not taken any decision yet. We are assessing the risks," he said.
"We are very happy that we are cooperating constructively with U.S. businesses. They have provided us with documents that permitted the reopening of exports. What we are not happy about is that the U.S. government has failed to provide us with state meat safety guarantees," Alexeyenko added.
When asked if Onishchenko's RosPotrebNadzor consumer protection watchdog was in a position to block exports, he said: "Theoretically, yes. Like in the chlorine wash case".
The safety responsibilities of the two watchdogs overlap in some cases, such as certain foodstuffs, including poultry meat. (Writing by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Sue Thomas and Jane Baird)