Shipments of meat products coming from Smithfield Foods' pork-processing plant in Tar Heel, NC are banned from entering Canada as of Thursday, the Department of Agriculture said.

The U.S. pork industry has recently faced some challenges due to trade tensions and regulatory issues. However, at least one concern seems to

A spokesman for Smithfield said in an emailed statement that the ban stemmed from issues over what the company describes as "a limited number of certain offal shipments." Offal refers to the internal organs of an animal,