EU wants to be reassured Brazil meat not a threat to consumers

The European community is urging Brazilian authorities to provide more in-depth information regarding Operation Weak Flesh in a bid to make sure Brazilian meat and its byproducts do not pose a threat to consumers' health. The crackdown was launched by the Federal Police on March 17 and probes into irregularities in meat production and law enforcement.

On Tuesday morning (Mar. 28), in a meeting with Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply Blairo Maggi, EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis reported that some of the 27 EU member states are demanding more strict measures towards Brazil.

“[Andriukaitis] told me there's been rather strong pressure from the countries that want a more strict attitude on the part of the European community,” Maggi stated. Combined, the 27 countries of the European Union with which Brazil has commercial ties make up the biggest consumer market for Brazilian meat, followed only by China and Hong Kong. Besides, the minister argued, since it is more demanding, the European market pays a higher price for the products it buys from overseas.

According to Maggi, Andriukaitis went as far as to suggest that the Brazilian sanitary control system should undergo external auditing. Maggi told journalist he does not oppose the idea.

“The announcement of the Federal Police operation contaminated all of the information process in Brazil and abroad. Consumers overseas are thinking about cardboard meat, carcinogenic products, all sorts of things. [They're thinking] we don't have control over the production process,” the minister said while talking to journalists about the concerns expressed by the EU commissioner.

The talk with the European commissioner was not conclusive, and a new meeting was scheduled for Thursday (30), when Maggi is to hand to Andriukaitis and his team reports on the police probe, the inspections, and laboratory tests conducted by the ministry itself, as well as data provided by the companies under investigation themselves.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira