The paper code cannot be redeemed when browsing in private/incognito mode. Please go to a normal browser window and enter the code there
This content is copyright protected!
However, if you would like to share the information in this article, you may use the headline, summary and link below:
Title: Checking imports to the EU at Rotterdam port
While the EU was deciding to delist 20 Brazilian establishments last week, the Irish Farmers Journal went to see the inspection process at Rotterdam port.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to farmersjournal.ie on this browser until 9pm next Wednesday. Thank you for buying the paper and using the code.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact us.
For assistance, call 01 4199525
or email subs@farmersjournal.ie
If would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525
Reset password
Please enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password
If would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address.
Please click on the link in this email to reset
your password. If you can't find it in your inbox,
please check your spam folder. If you can't
find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
Email address not recognised
There is no subscription associated with this email
address. To read our subscriber-only content.
please subscribe or use the reader loyalty code.
If would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525
You have no more free articles this month
We hope you've enjoyed your 6 free articles. To continue reading, sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe for just €1 to get unlimited access for 30 days.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe for just €1 to get unlimited access for 30 days.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe for just €1 to get unlimited access for 30 days.
While the EU was deciding to delist 20 Brazilian establishments last week, the Irish Farmers Journal went to see the inspection process at Rotterdam port.
During the week in which the EU decided to delist 20 Brazilian beef and poultry establishments from supplying the EU, the Irish Farmers Journal visited the port of Rotterdam to see the level of inspection that imports to the EU from third countries receive. Following Operation Weak Flesh last March, EU audits have been carried out in May 2017 and again in January this year which point to significant problems that still need to be resolved.
The port of Rotterdam is the biggest in the EU for imports handling up to 44,000 consignments for import into the EU each year. The team of gatekeepers in the port are provided by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). Across the Netherland’s they employ around 90 staff on import duties with approximately 40 allocated to Rotterdam port. This team includes between 25 and 30 veterinarians and the remainder are support staff.
When a consignment of food lands in Rotterdam from an non EU third country, containers are removed to large temperature controlled warehouses, where NVWA veterinarians and their support staff undertake sampling on behalf of the EU.
When a consignment of food lands in Rotterdam from an non EU third country, containers are removed to large temperature controlled warehouses, where NVWA veterinarians and their support staff undertake sampling on behalf of the EU.
All of the 44,000 food consignments that come into the port are cleared by these inspectors, after which the product can be distributed across the entire EU. It is the same policy at every port in the EU that deals with third country imports, the national inspection staff work to EU legislation and therefore on behalf of all the member states.
Brazilian beef and chicken
For Irish farmers, the main product of interest coming in from third countries is beef. Sheepmeat is also a major import but, as the EU produces less sheepmeat than it consumes, and the main supplier is New Zealand, which has a long tradition of exporting to the EU, the UK in particular, it is less controversial. Beef and poultry meat are two of the major imports to the EU through Rotterdam and procedures on handling imports from Brazil are of particular interest since the Operation Weak Flesh scandal of last year and the prospect of a major trade deal with the Mercosur group of countries which includes Brazil.
Once a carton has been inspected and is good to go, a label is applied by inspectors at the port.
Once a carton has been inspected and is good to go, a label is applied by inspectors at the port.
Also after Operation Weak Flesh, physical inspections were increased from 50% of consignments to 100% of consignments. This means that every consignment of beef or chicken coming from Brazil is physically checked, taking between two and 10 boxes. The import process involves an initial analysis of the certificate which is sent ahead of the consignment’s arrival by ship in the port. Problems with certification are the most frequent cause of rejections.
In Rotterdam, and indeed in the other EU ports that receive beef and chicken from Brazil, the rules of laboratory testing changed after Operation Weak Flesh. Now 20% of the consignments must be sampled. That means one in five containers are chosen for sampling by the port veterinary team and their staff ,with between two and 10 boxes from the consignment sampled. The consignment is detained until the results are back from the laboratory. On a positive result on Salmonella, the consignment is refused entry to the EU and sent back. Due to TRACES, which is the EU trade control and export system, a consignment cannot enter through another border inspection post (BIP) in the EU. A RASFF (rapid alert system food feed) is made and, when confirmed in Brussels, every other consignment from that company will be checked in any EU BIP – port-hopping is not possible.
Beef and poultry import data
In the year to March 2018, 1,844 consignments of beef were received, with all receiving a visual inspection and 20% of these consignments undergoing laboratory tests for Salmonella and Enterobacters. Of the almost 400 tested, only seven consignments of beef were refused for entry to the EU in Rotterdam. On poultry meat, meat preparations and products, of 8,000 consignments received, 1,600 or 20% were sent for laboratory testing for Salmonella and Enterobacters and 154 were refused entry to the EU. There is a much higher level of rejection for poultry than for beef.
Inspection process
In Rotterdam, there are nine major warehouses that provide inspection facilities for NVWA staff to examine the product and either accept it into the EU or reject it. In these warehouses, which are refrigerated, NVWA has a dedicated area in which is carries out inspections. When the Irish farmers Journal visited the port, the NVWA team were receiving a consignment of frozen fish from Vietnam.
As well as visual inspections of boxes, samples checked for temperature, defrosted and cooked as well as sent to laboratory for further analysis.
As well as visual inspections of boxes, samples checked for temperature, defrosted and cooked as well as sent to laboratory for further analysis.
A sealed container is delivered to an off loading bay where NVWA staff break the seal and take boxes of product for sampling. The physical checks involve a temperature check on the product. Small samples are then cut and part is captured for sending to the laboratory for microbiological testing because the consignment was selected for monitoring. The remainder is defrosted using warm tap water and a microwave.
When the product is thawed or partially cooked, it is further checked for fitness on smell, colour and taste. On this occasion the product was considered to be part of the 99% that was satisfactory and the cartons sampled received a green label confirming that they had been examined and were clear to go.
Comment
It is evident from spending time with the NVWA team in Rotterdam that the inspection process is robust and that they do occasionally find issues that lead to rejection. However the vast majority of imports are cleared following inspection.
This isn’t a surprise to the NVWA team as they point out that all of the factories despatching product to the EU are already cleared to do so and are well aware of the standards. Furthermore in recent times the Brazilian authorities have clamped down on companies that were found to have product rejected in the EU and they were suspended by the Brazilian authorities from the approved export list. With the latest EU decision to delist Brazilian establishments from exporting to the EU, it is clear that the EU is paying particularly close attention to Brazilian supplies.
It is also clear that a relatively small number of samples leads to rejection.
The greatest EU concern is internal controls in Brazil, as numerous EU audit reports suggest.
During the week in which the EU decided to delist 20 Brazilian beef and poultry establishments from supplying the EU, the Irish Farmers Journal visited the port of Rotterdam to see the level of inspection that imports to the EU from third countries receive. Following Operation Weak Flesh last March, EU audits have been carried out in May 2017 and again in January this year which point to significant problems that still need to be resolved.
The port of Rotterdam is the biggest in the EU for imports handling up to 44,000 consignments for import into the EU each year. The team of gatekeepers in the port are provided by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). Across the Netherland’s they employ around 90 staff on import duties with approximately 40 allocated to Rotterdam port. This team includes between 25 and 30 veterinarians and the remainder are support staff.
When a consignment of food lands in Rotterdam from an non EU third country, containers are removed to large temperature controlled warehouses, where NVWA veterinarians and their support staff undertake sampling on behalf of the EU.
When a consignment of food lands in Rotterdam from an non EU third country, containers are removed to large temperature controlled warehouses, where NVWA veterinarians and their support staff undertake sampling on behalf of the EU.
All of the 44,000 food consignments that come into the port are cleared by these inspectors, after which the product can be distributed across the entire EU. It is the same policy at every port in the EU that deals with third country imports, the national inspection staff work to EU legislation and therefore on behalf of all the member states.
Brazilian beef and chicken
For Irish farmers, the main product of interest coming in from third countries is beef. Sheepmeat is also a major import but, as the EU produces less sheepmeat than it consumes, and the main supplier is New Zealand, which has a long tradition of exporting to the EU, the UK in particular, it is less controversial. Beef and poultry meat are two of the major imports to the EU through Rotterdam and procedures on handling imports from Brazil are of particular interest since the Operation Weak Flesh scandal of last year and the prospect of a major trade deal with the Mercosur group of countries which includes Brazil.
Once a carton has been inspected and is good to go, a label is applied by inspectors at the port.
Once a carton has been inspected and is good to go, a label is applied by inspectors at the port.
Also after Operation Weak Flesh, physical inspections were increased from 50% of consignments to 100% of consignments. This means that every consignment of beef or chicken coming from Brazil is physically checked, taking between two and 10 boxes. The import process involves an initial analysis of the certificate which is sent ahead of the consignment’s arrival by ship in the port. Problems with certification are the most frequent cause of rejections.
In Rotterdam, and indeed in the other EU ports that receive beef and chicken from Brazil, the rules of laboratory testing changed after Operation Weak Flesh. Now 20% of the consignments must be sampled. That means one in five containers are chosen for sampling by the port veterinary team and their staff ,with between two and 10 boxes from the consignment sampled. The consignment is detained until the results are back from the laboratory. On a positive result on Salmonella, the consignment is refused entry to the EU and sent back. Due to TRACES, which is the EU trade control and export system, a consignment cannot enter through another border inspection post (BIP) in the EU. A RASFF (rapid alert system food feed) is made and, when confirmed in Brussels, every other consignment from that company will be checked in any EU BIP – port-hopping is not possible.
Beef and poultry import data
In the year to March 2018, 1,844 consignments of beef were received, with all receiving a visual inspection and 20% of these consignments undergoing laboratory tests for Salmonella and Enterobacters. Of the almost 400 tested, only seven consignments of beef were refused for entry to the EU in Rotterdam. On poultry meat, meat preparations and products, of 8,000 consignments received, 1,600 or 20% were sent for laboratory testing for Salmonella and Enterobacters and 154 were refused entry to the EU. There is a much higher level of rejection for poultry than for beef.
Inspection process
In Rotterdam, there are nine major warehouses that provide inspection facilities for NVWA staff to examine the product and either accept it into the EU or reject it. In these warehouses, which are refrigerated, NVWA has a dedicated area in which is carries out inspections. When the Irish farmers Journal visited the port, the NVWA team were receiving a consignment of frozen fish from Vietnam.
As well as visual inspections of boxes, samples checked for temperature, defrosted and cooked as well as sent to laboratory for further analysis.
As well as visual inspections of boxes, samples checked for temperature, defrosted and cooked as well as sent to laboratory for further analysis.
A sealed container is delivered to an off loading bay where NVWA staff break the seal and take boxes of product for sampling. The physical checks involve a temperature check on the product. Small samples are then cut and part is captured for sending to the laboratory for microbiological testing because the consignment was selected for monitoring. The remainder is defrosted using warm tap water and a microwave.
When the product is thawed or partially cooked, it is further checked for fitness on smell, colour and taste. On this occasion the product was considered to be part of the 99% that was satisfactory and the cartons sampled received a green label confirming that they had been examined and were clear to go.
Comment
It is evident from spending time with the NVWA team in Rotterdam that the inspection process is robust and that they do occasionally find issues that lead to rejection. However the vast majority of imports are cleared following inspection.
This isn’t a surprise to the NVWA team as they point out that all of the factories despatching product to the EU are already cleared to do so and are well aware of the standards. Furthermore in recent times the Brazilian authorities have clamped down on companies that were found to have product rejected in the EU and they were suspended by the Brazilian authorities from the approved export list. With the latest EU decision to delist Brazilian establishments from exporting to the EU, it is clear that the EU is paying particularly close attention to Brazilian supplies.
It is also clear that a relatively small number of samples leads to rejection.
The greatest EU concern is internal controls in Brazil, as numerous EU audit reports suggest.
Adam Woods has the latest on this week’s beef trade, including the latest factory quotes for factory finished stock.
Save to a collection
Recent collections
This article has already been saved
This article has been saved
Create a collection
Subscriber only
This content is available to digital subscribers only. Sign in to your account or subscribe for just €1 to get unlimited access for 30 days.SIGN INSUBSCRIBE FOR €1
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: