Brazil hit by foot and mouth outbreak
IFA president John Dillon, speaking in Cologne, Germany, where he is attending the Anuga international food and drinks fair, said the most serious risk with Brazilian beef is its unknown origin and lack of traceability.
“EU consumers and food safety agencies are demanding rigorous standards from European farmers and rightly so. However, the same cannot be said of the EU’s policing of imported products.”
Mr Dillon accused the EU Commission of double standards in failing to implement the same regulations and called for an immediate ban.
He said the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea have all banned the importation of Brazilian beef for health reasons.
He said he would write to the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Affairs Marcos Kyprianou to demand action and would ask Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan to take the matter up directly with the commission.
The latest foot and mouth outbreak in Brazil has affected 153 animals in a herd of 582 cattle and eight pigs. Control measures undertaken include quarantine and disinfection of infected premises.
News of the outbreak came as farmers increased their demands for an EU ban on beef imports from Brazil, which have increased dramatically in recent years. The volume of Brazilian beef imported into Ireland in 2004 was in the region of 8,500 tonnes.
