US lawmakers would be examining the proposed acquisition agreement for Smithfield Foods by Shuanghui International of China. Smithfield, the world's biggest pork processor, was offered US$4.7 billion by Shuanghui International. The acquisition is said to be the biggest acquisition of a US firm by a Chinese company. The examination of the deal will be held at a hearing in July. This was stated by Debbie Stabenow, the head of the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday.

Larry Pope, Smithfield CEO, will be among those who will testify during the hearing on July 10. Other witnesses were not announced.

Last week, fifteen out of twenty legislators on the Agriculture Committee and the heads of the Senate Finance Committee wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. The letter said food security must be a factor when US regulators decide to approve the deal or not. The Treasury Department leads an interagency panel that reviews foreign investment for national security risks. Smithfield and Shuanghui filed the proposed deal under the said interagency.