* Russia, China ban pork imports from Mexico, U.S.
* Six countries also slap on bans from some parts of U.S.
* WHO says no danger of swine flu from contact with pork
* U.S. groups also worry Russia ban could affect beef
* Some reports of added inspection slowing trade (Updates death toll, adds comments from U.S. Trade Representative)
By Jonathan Lynn
GENEVA, April 27 (Reuters) - Outbreaks of swine flu have prompted several countries to ban the import of pork, raising the prospect the disease will add a further protectionist blow to sagging world trade.
International trade rules allow countries to restrict or ban imports for health and safety reasons -- but this has to be based on scientific evidence. The World Health Organization says swine flu does not spread by eating infected pork.
"It's not supposed to be an unjustifiable barrier to trade," Stuart Harbinson, senior trade policy advisor at law firm Winston & Strawn and former chairman of agriculture negotiations at the World Trade Organization, told Reuters.
Confirmed outbreaks of swine flu in Mexico, where it has killed 149 people, the United States, Canada and Europe have prompted health authorities to put customs officers on alert. [ID:nN27484099]
Cases of the flu, which has components of classic avian, human and swine flu viruses but has not actually been seen in pigs, were also suspected in France, Italy and Israel.
Six countries -- China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates -- have banned meat and pork products from some parts of the United States in the wake of the swine flu scare, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said. [ID:nWAT011359]
"Restrictions on U.S. pork or pork products or any meat products from the United States resulting from the recent outbreak do not appear to be based on scientific evidence and may result in serious trade disruptions without cause," the USTR's office said in a statement.
Meanwhile, USTR said the United States was not considering any bans, trade restrictions on meat from Mexico.
Russia banned imports of all meat not treated thermally from Mexico, Texas, California and Kansas, and raw pork imports from eight other U.S. states, Central America and the Caribbean. [ID:nLQ600185]
China, the world's largest pork consumer, also banned imports of live pigs and pork products from Mexico, Texas, California and Kansas. [ID:nPEK2499]
Kazakhstan banned imports from areas with confirmed cases, and Serbia banned pork from all of North America, said Joe Schuele, a spokesman for the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
Some of the markets are not large importers of U.S. pork, but the trend is concerning, Schuele said.
"There may be a certain follow-the-leader mentality," he said. "It tells us that sound science is not prevailing."
For Russia, a major market for U.S. pork, exports can continue from unaffected states, but officials were worried the ban may extend to beef, which would hurt shipments from major beef-shipping states of Kansas and Texas, Schuele said.
Russia's ban did not apply to U.S. poultry exports, a spokesman for the U.S. National Chicken Council said.
Exporters have also seen increased inspections of shipments, which could slow trade, Schuele said.
The world animal health body OIE says the disease should not be called swine flu as it contained avian and human components and no pig has been found ill with the disease. [ID:nLR478786]
The G20 group of leading and emerging countries repeated a call this month to its members not to raise trade barriers.
Last Thursday, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said nine out of the 20 nations had taken or were considering measures to restrict trade in the face of the economic crisis. [ID:nN23322834] (For more stories on swine flu, click on [nFLU]) (For WHO information on swine flu, go to: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html ) (Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in Washington; Editing by Marguerita Choy)