July 20, 2007

 

EC assures safety of Brazilian beef imported into the EU

 

 

Brazilian beef entering Europe is safe and comply with European requirements, as far as the inspection procedures are concerned, the European Commission said.

 

Even though the vast majority of Brazilian beef would not have been EU eligible, those that were imported into the EU do.

 

The announcement was in reply to charges by the Irish Farmers Association that the EU does not hold import beef to the same standards as those it imposed on EU producers. 

 

The EU only imports beef registered in Brazil's SISBOV system tagging and traceability system. Only 16.5 million of the country's 200 million cattle are registered in that system.

 

Animals to be slaughtered for the EU market have to remain for 90 days in an EU approved area, and for 40 days in an approved farm, before slaughter.

 

Although the preliminary findings of a recent mission indicated some difficulties in the implementation of the system, they were generally found to be satisfactory, the European Commission said. 

 

However, apart from the 16.5 million cattle in the country, no tagging or traceability is in place in the rest of the herd and branding is the identification system used. Farmers using branding must register their brand at the local veterinary units and municipalities.

 

EU officials say SISBOV tags comply with EU requirements in that they were tamper proof and non re-usable. Animals with lost tags would not be bound for the EU market.

 

Checks are carried out at slaughterhouses on arrival and during slaughter. A farm register is compulsory also for SISBOV cattle holdings. This and other SISBOV requirements are supervised by approved bodies and Brazilian competent authorities.

 

The commission's Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) currently has an intensive inspection programme in Brazil to ensure EU food safety and veterinary health legislation are complied with.

 

FVO missions have found evidence that the SISBOV system has improved over recent years, according to the European Commission.

 

Hormonal growth promoters are not allowed in Brazil and FVO inspection missions had not found any evidence of illegal hormones on SISBOV farms, even during unannounced farm visits.

 

The commission has also expressed satisfaction with foot and mouth vaccination in Brazil, with controls including annual blood sampling at random in selected farms.

 

Measures to prevent foot and mouth disease in some parts of Brazil have also got the EU's approval.

 

Preliminary conclusions of the report of the most recent FVO mission to Brazil, in March 2007, do not justify an urgent change of EU policy, according to the commission.