Call for independent food safety inspections for Mercosur
The Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan has agreed that more stringent controls may have to be put in place for beef imported to the EU from Mercosur.
Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly with Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan.
ADVERTISEMENT
Irish MEP Seán Kelly had called for independent inspections to be carried out in Mercosur countries to verify food safety standards and meat traceability. In a meeting with EU Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström, and Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan he said that this step must take place before further trade volumes are agreed.
A trade deal between the EU and Mercosur trading bloc is currently being negotiated.
The Mercosur bloc is made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Beef is a major export for these countries and securing market access to the EU is a key part of negotiations. Kelly says that traceability, country of origin labelling and inspection standards that we have in Europe may not be in place among Mercosur countries.
"As it stands, we cannot guarantee the same standards for possible imported meat from the Mercosur countries. These conditions have not been taken over by Mercosur under the chapter on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures on which an agreement was reached earlier,” he said.
Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan said that “more stringent controls” than the existing checks on meat coming in to the EU from Mercosur countries may be put in place.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
However, if you would like to share the information in this article, you may use the headline, summary and link below:
Title: Call for independent food safety inspections for Mercosur
The Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan has agreed that more stringent controls may have to be put in place for beef imported to the EU from Mercosur.
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 the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Irish MEP Seán Kelly had called for independent inspections to be carried out in Mercosur countries to verify food safety standards and meat traceability. In a meeting with EU Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström, and Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan he said that this step must take place before further trade volumes are agreed.
A trade deal between the EU and Mercosur trading bloc is currently being negotiated.
The Mercosur bloc is made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Beef is a major export for these countries and securing market access to the EU is a key part of negotiations. Kelly says that traceability, country of origin labelling and inspection standards that we have in Europe may not be in place among Mercosur countries.
"As it stands, we cannot guarantee the same standards for possible imported meat from the Mercosur countries. These conditions have not been taken over by Mercosur under the chapter on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures on which an agreement was reached earlier,” he said.
Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan said that “more stringent controls” than the existing checks on meat coming in to the EU from Mercosur countries may be put in place.
If you 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.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
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.
SHARING OPTIONS