Health Threat from Brazilian Beef

‘Health Threat from Brazilian Beef’ Local Euro MP and Labour Spokesman on Agriculture in the European Parliament Brian Simpson has called for an EU wide import on beef from Brazil when an independent organisation found foot and mouth in Brazilian cattle and no measures in place to stop the disease. The report by the Irish Farm Centre from Dublin was undertaken last month and found that cattle from areas affected by Foot and mouth disease were being moved to non affected areas so that they could be exported. “What the Irish investigators found had serious implications for food hygiene in Britain and the EU” said Mr Simpson The report highlights that the traceability of cattle was unreliable, with animal tags removed, in order to facilitate illegal movement and many cows were being sent for export whose history and identity was totally unknown. “Our farmers operate to the highest international standards of food safety, yet countries like Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia; all foot and mouth high-risk countries have no standards, no traceability, no control on animal medicines and can still export to the EU” commented Mr Simpson. Other countries like the USA, Australia, Japan and New Zealand have already banned beef from Brazil. In 2006 over 300,000 tonnes of Brazilian beef was imported into the EU and a lot of that ends up in Britain. According to Mr Simpson:“This report proves that the EU has been too slow to recognise that a problem exists regarding Brazilian beef. Brazil fails to meet EU standards, traceability is non-existant, Foot and Mouth controls are a joke and environmental degradation is widespread. Yet no action is being taken to protect consumers. The European Commission should do its duty and ban all imports of Brazilian beef immediately until such times as EU standards are observed by Brazilian farmers”