Over 60 MEPs have this week called for a ban on meat from Brazil into the EU and suspension or ending of the Mercosur trade discussion.

The Brazilian meat industry was rocked by the Operation Weak Flesh investigation, which involved 1,000 police and 200 premises being raided three weeks ago.

MEPs held council in Strasbourg on Monday where EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis addressed the concerns of the MEPS.

In his presentation, commissioner Andriukaitis made three main points, asking what was the volume of product under suspicion? In what markets was it sold? Why did the EU controls not pick up this fraud? And, as it raises food safety concerns, should meat be removed from trade discussions such as Mercosur?

The commissioner again referred to his meeting with Minister Blairo Maggi during his scheduled visit to Brazil last week. He described this as an “open, long and frank discussion” and said that an EU-Mercosur trade discussion will not lower food safety standards.

MEPs vent

Several Irish MEPs as well as Jim Nicholson and Diane Dodds from Northern Ireland spoke in the debate that followed.

Senior vice president of the parliament Mairead McGuinness led the discussion, picking up on how the commissioner did not address the details of the questions put by the chairman of the agriculture committee.

McGuinness said all consignments of meat which have already been shipped from Brazil to the EU “must be destroyed or they will make their way on to some unsuspecting consumer’s plate”.

Passionate plea

In a passionate intervention, Matt Carthy said that if the commission was prioritising the livelihoods of EU farmers and serious about the wellbeing of EU consumers then the recent scandals would have immediately led to withdrawal from the Mercosur trade discussions.

“I find it extremely concerning that while we may have yet to discover the full extent of this scandal, no precautionary measures are being taken by the European Commission.

“Less than one week after the discovery of the cover-up, the European Commission publicly repeated their intention to conclude a free trade agreement with the Mercosur block, which includes Brazil, ‘as soon as possible’,” Carthy said.

Commissioner Andriukaitis wrapped up the discussion, saying that this was not about trade or protection but food safety. He referenced the horsemeat incident and how difficult fraud is to detect.

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