September 28, 2006

EU tightens definitions of high quality beef from South America 

EU agricultural officials have tightened definitions of what counts as top-quality South American beef to reduce the chance of fraudulent imports and ensure traceability, officials said Wednesday (Sep 27).

In 2003, the EU's anti-fraud unit Olaf issued a report saying that the general definitions of high-quality beef import quotas allows exporters to ship beef originating from outside their country.

Although no cases of fraud has been prosecuted so far, stricter definitions would ensure exporting countries cannot fill their quota allocations with meat from another country. Major exporters to the EU include Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

Olaf found that specifications for Hilton beef from those three countries were suspect so there had to be changes, the official said.

Only animals that have been grazing pastures qualify as "high quality" and not those fed feedstuffs like meal, he continued.