Poultry & ‘Poorly Preserved’ Brazilian Beef Rejected at EU Ports Before Ban

IFA President Francie Gorman said consignments of poultry and beef from Brazil were rejected at EU ports before the ban came into effect earlier this month.

The EU banned the importation of Brazilian beef and poultry into the EU from September 3rd. The intention to introduce the ban was announced in May and led to an amount of stockpiling of Brazilian meat.

In August and early September, 16 consignments of poultry and four consignments of beef were rejected at EU ports. The beef was rejected for being poorly preserved while the poultry was mainly rejected because of the presence of salmonella. Consignments are checked on a risk-based approach. Not all consignments were checked.

These results amplify the concerns raised by the IFA about the meat that was rushed into the EU in advance of the ban.

“We wrote to the Minister’s for Health and Agriculture seeking the recall of this meat and we believe the figures here strengthen our case,” he said.

“It also highlights the poor standards in Brazil and demonstrates the cavalier approach they take in exporting meat into the EU,” he said.