May 15, 2023

UK considers expanding poultry meat imports from Brazil

The UK is deliberating the possibility of increasing its imports of poultry meat products from Brazil, following revised poultry meat quotas for Brazil set to come into effect in July, Food Safety News reported.

These revised quotas will facilitate an increase in the sales of poultry meat products, with the volume expanded by 16,600 tonnes per year, reaching a total of 96,500 tonnes annually.

Last October, UK officials visited Brazil to assess the control system for beef and poultry meat products.

In April 2023, Therese Coffey, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, held a meeting with Brazil's Agriculture Minister, Carlos Favaro, in England. The discussion revolved around proposals to open new markets for Brazilian products, particularly animal proteins.

Favaro was quoted in Brazilian media stating that more imports could potentially take place starting from June of this year.

Some Brazilian sites are permitted to export meat such as chicken to the United Kingdom and Europe, but the European Commission suspended several plants following the findings of Operation Carne Fraca. The UK was a member of the EU at the time, but has since left and can now make its own assessment.

Operation Carne Fraca, initiated in 2015, revealed cases of fraud and corruption in approximately 20 beef and poultry processing plants in Brazil.

-      Food Safety News