Brazil’s government and beef industry continues to reel from the meat scandal that has engulfed the sector since March.

In the past seven days alone, the US agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue de-listed the importation of fresh beef from Brazil. The ban was put in place amid “recurring concerns” about the food safety of the product.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said the ban, which takes effect immediately, will remain in place until the Brazilian agriculture ministry takes corrective action to bring food safety standards for beef shipments up to a satisfactory standard for US authorities.

Then this week, in a further twist to the Brazilian meat scandal, the country’s president Michel Temer has been charged with corruption.

Temer denies the accusation that he accepted money from J&F Investimentos, the parent company of Brazilian meat processor JBS, controlled by the Batista brothers.

J&F Investimentos accepted an offer from Brazil’s federal prosecution office of a multibillion euro fine to be paid back over more than two decades for corruption charges.

A supreme court judge has received the charges against President Temer, according to reports, and is to decide whether the case can be sent to the lower house of parliament. The lower house has the authority to vote on whether or not Temer should be tried.

While reports state Temer is determined to prove his innocence, the case follows the release of damaging audio recordings of the president.

Secret tapes that emerged earlier this year contain recordings of Temer discussing bribes with JBS chair Joesley Batista.

In the recorded conversation from March this year, Temer is alleged to have endorsed the payment of bribes to a former lawmaker who is now jailed.

The Brazilian beef farmer continues to feel the effect of the meat scandal, with prices collapsing from £2.55/kg in March to £2/kg this week.