Farmers across the EU back IFA on beef imports issue
However, EU Commissioner for Public Health and Food Safety, Markos Kyprianou rebutted IFA findings and responded in detail to 34 points made by IFA in its report of alleged food safety breaches in Brazil.
The IFA’s findings on the Brazilian beef industry are not new, and are misleading, according to the Commission. But the COPA group of EU farmers’ organisations, and the COGECA grouping of agricultural co-ops backed IFA, by calling for tighter controls of such imports into the EU.
Pekka PESONEN, Secretary General of COPA-COGECA, said: “The European Commission must immediately increase the frequency of physical checks for Brazilian beef imports. If these serious failures are found to be widespread the EU must be ready to introduce further measures, such as a complete ban on Brazilian beef imports without hesitation.”
He said full traceability means more than just controls at the slaughterhouses where meat for export is produced, the participation of farmers was required across the whole region from which cattle for a slaughterhouse originate.
The Commission said the IFA mission to Brazil did not assess the full system of controls and safeguards for the export of beef to the EU, and IFA allegations are based on an incorrect interpretation of EU requirements for beef imports — because the EU does not require that all Brazilian cattle be fully traceable, nor that Brazil be totally clear of foot and mouth disease; nor that cattle movements into foot and mouth free areas be banned. However, the EU does require that cattle from which meat is destined for the EU market has to be resident in an EU recognised foot and mouth free zone for 90 days, and on an authorised farm for 40 days immediately prior to slaughter.
According to the Commission, this ensures that animals which pose a foot and mouth risk are not slaughtered for export.
Only matured and de-boned meat is allowed for export, as this treatment ensures destruction of the foot and mouth virus, said Commission sources.
They also said Brazil’s residues control plan has been deemed to offer guarantees equivalent to EU legislation. Medicines records are required on eligible farms with cattle eligible for EU beef to be exported, and the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office did not find any evidence of use of growth promoting hormones in Brazil this year, and was broadly satisfied with the controls of the Brazilian authorities.
IFA President Padraig Walshe rejected the Commission’s statement and said it was a cover up of intolerable risks to European food safety and animal health.
He said Commissioner Kyprianou was defending the indefensible.”
“Commissioner Kyprianou says it is acceptable to the European Commission that animals of completely unknown origin are eligible for slaughter for the EU market after only 40 days residency on the despatching farm,” said Mr Walshe. He said this fig leaf residency arrangement was completely worthless, because the Commission has no control whatsoever over enforcing it, and the IFA mission had witnessed at first hand the total circumvention of the rules in Brazil.
