October 18, 2007

Brazil hits back at IFA for calling for EU beef ban  

Brazil's agriculture minister yesterday lashed back at the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) accusing them of acting "illegally" and in a "clandestine manner" in their bid to have Brazilian beef banned from the EU.

Brazil's Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes was referring to a recent report which was carried out by the IFA during a mission to Brazil in May in which it claimed Brazilian beef was unsafe to eat due to poor food safety control measures at processing plants.

Calling the mission illegal, he said the IFA had acted in a clandestine manner.