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A new report has found that Brazilian beef has failed on another standard for beef set by the European Commission.
IFA national livestock chair Angus Woods said that Brazil is in total breach of EU regulations by allowing factory staff carry out post-mortem inspections on beef exported to the EU. He said in Europe this would be illegal.
Out of the 53 beef plants cleared for export to the EU, the report shows the Brazilians have only 187 official veterinary staff and 761 factory staff performing post-mortem inspections for beef exports to Europe, Woods has said.
It also highlights that these staff are paid directly by the factories, many which were involved in the high-profile Weak Flesh corruption scandal last year.
The findings were published in a report by DG Santé, the Health and Food Safety arm of the European Commission.
Woods said the EU cannot continue to “bury their heads in the sand and ignore the findings of their vets on the failures of Brazil to meet EU standards”.
He also said the findings should provide a wake-up call for Commissioner Cecilia Malmström to immediately withdraw beef from the Mercosur negotiations.
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