Export markets open up to Brazilian meat again
31/03/2017
Federal police uncovered alleged corruption involving food safety inspectors and meat packing plants, leading to fears in export markets that the safety of beef, pork and chicken imports from Brazil may be compromised. To date, no instance of contaminated meat has come to light.
South Korea reopened its market to Brazilian beef on March 21, followed by China, Egypt and Chile on March 25, Hong Kong on March 28 and Iran on March 29.
European commissioner responsible for health and food safety, Dr Vytenis Andriukaitis, travelled to Brazil at the end of March. His visit included what he called “a frank and open discussion” with Brazil’s minister for agriculture, Blairo Maggi.
Afterwards, Dr Andriukaitis said he had gleaned more information on the next steps Brazil plans to take to safeguard the quality of its meat and to offer reassurance to consumers at home and overseas. “The suspicion of corruption is unacceptable,” he added. “But the dialogue remains open, transparent and based on trust.”
Twenty-one meat-packing plants were implicated in the scandal, and only four of those exported meat to the European Union. The EU has placed restrictions on any shipments from those plants, but Brazilian meat from other suppliers has continued to arrive on the European market.
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