March 14, 2011

EU audits Brazilian residue controls

The EU's Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) recently undertook a mission to Brazil, with the objective of auditing the local Residue Control National Plan for animal products (PNCRC), where the programme has increased the number of controlled residues from 146 to 171 over the last three years.

According to Brazilian authorities, the FVO requires Brazil to address Codex Alimentarius' residue limits. However, for substances not covered under this code, Brazil addresses international norms, such as guidelines from the US, EU, Canada, or Australia. In 2010, the PNCRN took more than 19,000 tests, with 99.83% of the samples within the required limits.

Although FVO's preliminary assessment of the audit was positive, the EU maintains the tight restriction on Brazilian beef, limiting EU eligible productsto be sourced from around 2,200 properties.