November 3, 2011

Russia discovers illegal Brazilian meat import

An attempt to illegally import Brazilian meat into Russia from Ukraine has been uncovered by the branch of Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight for the Kaluga Region, the service's branch said Wednesday (Nov 2).

The contraband goods were found in two vehicles arriving from Ukraine, with the cargo licensed by the Ukrainian veterinary and phytosanitary service as cabbage.

An inspection revealed the vehicles were carrying not only cabbage packed in polymer nets without the necessary labels, but also 32,000 kilogrammes of pork with labels of Brazilian meat processing plants, among other cargo, the Russian service said.

The incident is currently under investigation, the Russian service also said.

On October 6, the Russian service said that it may impose a ban on pork supplies from a number of Brazilian livestock farms using ractopamine as feed additive. Ractopamine is used as a feed additive to promote leanness in pigs raised for their meat. The use of this medicine is banned by Russian veterinary standards, as well as the standards of certain EU countries.

Brazil currently supplies meat to more than 100 countries.