EU restricts imports of Brazilian beef

BEEF imports to the EU from Brazil will be severely restricted and reduced from early 2008 after veterinary experts agreed that the South American producers were not meeting EU standards.

The move was welcomed by Irish farmers who have been campaigning relentlessly over the past two years for a clampdown on beef imports — especially from Brazil — because of poor hygiene standards and endemic foot and mouth disease.

However, IFA president Pádraig Walshe said that while it welcomed the EU’s action, it believed there should be an all-out ban on Brazilian beef following the irregularities found by two IFA missions to the country.