May 28, 2007

Russia mulls meat import ban on 15 more Brazilian suppliers

The Russian food quality watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor is not ruling out possible temporary imports bans on meat from a further 15 Brazilian suppliers, Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement Friday (May 25), quoting the service's head, Sergey Dankvert.

The statement said the Brazilian veterinary service had relaxed its control on meat health safety, and imports from 16 Brazilian enterprises had already been banned, including 10 because of counterfeited certificates and six because salmonella and listeria had been detected in their products.

In 2006 Russia imported 950,000 tonnes of meat from Brazil.