No to Brazilian Beef

IFA President Padraig Walshe has responded strongly to reported requests from Brazil for the EU to ease up on traceability standards on beef imports. He said the EU Commission, both DG Sanco and DG Agri, must give Brazil an emphatic No.

He said the message must be clear – Europe will not tolerate sub-standard imports.

Padraig Walshe welcomed the unequivocal response from Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel who told the Brazilians “The response is No. The system is not hard, it is for everyone, for Brazil and for our own producers.”

The IFA President said, “The history of the Brazilians on meeting EU standards on traceability and food safety issues is appalling.

On each and every occasion the Food & Veterinary Office (FVO) has examined the SISBOV traceability system it has failed to meet even basic traceability requirements let alone EU standards”

Padraig Walshe was very critical of suggestions that the EU could adapt the requirements for Brazil based on guarantees given by the Brazilian authorities. He said, “regarding standards and traceability, the Brazilians cannot be trusted and the facts show that so called guarantees from the Brazilian authorities are not worth the paper they are written on.

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Padraig Walshe said “there can be no such thing as compromising on EU standards regarding traceability and food safety controls. Brazil must either meet the full EU standards or they fail to qualify and cannot be allowed send beef exports to Europe”.

Padraig Walshe again called on the Commission to immediately publish the report of the last EU Mission to Brazil, which continued to find serious problems on standards and traceability.