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Twenty Brazilian meat plants have been delisted by the EU following on from detected flaws in Brazil’s official control system.
The 20 plants currently export meat and meat products, mainly poultry, to the EU. Delisting the 20 plants will see their authorisation to export to the EU removed.
Once the measure to delist the plants is published in the Official Journal of the EU, it will take 15 days before their authorisation to export is removed.
Of the 20 plants to be delisted, 19 export poultry products to the EU and one exports beef.
Checks and inspections in place in relation to Brazilian meat imports which were introduced following the Brazilian meat fraud scandal in the spring of 2017, continue to reveal ongoing problems in compliance with EU public health and hygiene requirements.
Therefore, the reason for the delisting is for sanitary reasons, aimed at protecting EU health.
Fact-finding mission
News of the delisting comes following a fact-finding mission in Brazil by MEPs from the European Parliament earlier this month.
Jim Nicholson, MEP for Northern Ireland, was the only MEP from Ireland or the UK delegation from the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee.
Nicholson told the Irish Farmers Journal that he believes issues remain with Brazil's official controls and that evidently there has been corruption in the industry as demonstrated in Operation Weak Flesh.
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