September 12, 2006

Laxer monitoring towards Brazilian beef raises concerns

Britain's National Beef Association (NBA) is demanding an explanation on why European Commission its animal health department, DG Sanco, is practicing double standards with regards to its treatment of Brazilian beef compared with beef from other countries.

The group wanted assurances that DG Sanco would strengthen its approach towards cattle traceability, FMD control and pre-slaughter welfare standards in Brazil.

The Commission lax monitoring of steroid, other hormone residues, and veterinary medicine controls of Brazilian beef prompted NBA to lodge its complaint, said NBA's chief executive, Robert Forster.

The check ups applied to beef from the US are much more stringent than those from Brazil and NBA said there should be a reason why lower standards apply to those beef.

While the US has to prove its beef is hormone-free and is subjected to regular inspections from the EU, this is not the case with Brazil where banned steroids are  still in use in some locations, Forster said.

The increased number of Brazilian feedlots in recent years also gives rise to worries that banned materials such as spinal cords and animal parts may be fed to cattle. 

The EC would also need to monitor anti-FMD zones to ensure that animals in these zones are not sent to export approved abattoirs in non-FMD zones, said Mr Forster.

The EC should also ensure that no beef from neighbouring Paraguay would cross over into Brazil to be exported to the EU. 

The EC should also check if Brazil has fulfilled its promise of tagging all export cattle for at least 90 days before slaughter and whether it has carried out obligations to extend tagging requirements to cover birth to death by 2006.