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Perdue: USDA Halting Import of Fresh Brazilian Beef
Kansas Ag Connection - 06/23/2017

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue Thurday announced the suspension of all imports of fresh beef from Brazil because of recurring concerns about the safety of the products intended for the American market. The suspension of shipments will remain in place until the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture takes corrective action which the USDA finds satisfactory.

Since March, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has been inspecting 100 percent of all meat products arriving in the United States from Brazil. FSIS has refused entry to 11 percent of Brazilian fresh beef products. That figure is substantially higher than the rejection rate of one percent of shipments from the rest of the world. Since implementation of the increased inspection, FSIS has refused entry to 106 lots (approximately 1.9 million pounds) of Brazilian beef products due to public health concerns, sanitary conditions, and animal health issues. It is important to note that none of the rejected lots made it into the U.S. market.

The Brazilian government had pledged to address those concerns, including by self-suspending five facilities from shipping beef to the United States. Thursday's action to suspend all fresh beef shipments from Brazil supersedes the self-suspension.

R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard applauded the move by Perdue, but questioned why the Secretary did not also halt imports of its pre-cooked beef after alleging that Brazil's food safety system is inadequate to meet U.S. food safety standards.

"Reports earlier this week from Brazil reveal that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued an alert regarding "irregularities" in several Brazilian meatpacking plants, including a plant owned by JBS. As a result, imports from five plants were immediately suspended. Alarmingly, the irregularities that USDA identified were purportedly reactions to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines," Bullard said in a statement. "In other words, it appears the reason that only fresh beef from Brazil is being halted while genuine concerns remain for the safety of all Brazilian beef exports is because FMD mitigation measures may have been breached in Brazil.

Bullard said R-CALF is dismayed that it has taken longer than three months for the USDA to take steps to protect the safety of our food supply and the safety of our livestock herds.

"This inexplicable delay highlights the absolute need for mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL). If mandatory COOL had been in place, then consumers could have chosen to immediately avoid beef products from Brazil back in March when it was first discovered that Brazil's meatpackers were unlawfully exporting tainted beef," Bullard said.

In a statement included with the announcement halting Brazilian imports, Perdue said, "Ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply is one of our critical missions, and it's one we undertake with great seriousness. Although international trade is an important part of what we do at USDA, and Brazil has long been one of our partners, my first priority is to protect American consumers. That's what we've done by halting the import of Brazilian fresh beef. I commend the work of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service for painstakingly safeguarding the food we serve our families."


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