March 22, 2017

Hong Kong also bans Brazil meat

Hong Kong is the latest to announce a ban on Brazilian meat imports amid allegations of rotten meat being sold with falsified certificates, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Wednesday.

Hong Kong, the biggest market for Brazilian beef, on Tuesday imposed the ban, a day after China--Brazil's biggest market for beef and poultry overall--suspended meat imports and the EU demanded a partial ban.

Other countries that have suspended Brazilian meat imports include Chile, Mexico and Japan, among others. Russia said it wanted clarifications from Brazil, according to AFP.

"We expect more than 30 countries to question Brazil about this issue," Brazilian Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi was quoted as saying on Monday.

South Korea, however, lifted a temporary suspension on the distribution of chicken already imported from Brazil, after authorities had confirmed that no tainted poultry had entered the country.

The Brazilian meat scare started after police claimed that health inspectors had been bribed to certify meat no longer fit for consumption and additives were used to mask problems in the produce, according to AFP.

Exports have been stopped from 21 meat processors under investigation, and at least 30 people have been arrested, the report said.

Among the facilities shut down was a poultry-processing plant run by the multinational BRF group and two meat-processing plants operated by the local Peccin company.