South Africa Suspends Import of Brazilian Meat

In 2015, Tester successfully blocked the importation of Brazilian beef from regions where foot-and-mouth disease was prevalent.

In a statement yesterday, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in addition to the requirement of the health certificate from the Brazilian authorities by Malaysia’s Health Ministry, the inspection was taken as a precautionary measure.

He added, “Further, none of the meat plants listed by the Brazilian authorities supply corned beef to GraceKennedy Ltd”. I can’t imagine getting to 10 percent.

Some Brazilian product may be significantly less expensive than USA product or importers in those countries have not developed the relationships that would allow them to easily replace the product. And Germany’s Metro has withdrawn Brazilian chicken products from its Chinese stores, a manager said. Several Caribbean countries say that if it comes from Brazil, it’s not.

Ulster Farmers’ Union president, Barclay Bell, said Brazilian meat imports into Europe should be blocked.

Brazilian officials on Tuesday tried to calm consumers.

“Even before this, the average price of meat was above 15 per cent or as high as 30 per cent”, Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades chairman Simon Wong Ka-wo said.

Six million Brazilians work in the meat production industry, according to the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporters.

There is fears inside Brazil that the scandal could do permanent and irreparable damage to the country’s agricultural industry. None of the meatpacking plants implicated in shipping rotten meat and using a chemical wash to mask the spoilage have sent beef to the United States, USDA reported.

Khan questioned what would stop a business from relabelling products coming out of Brazil and selling it in supermarkets. Food suppliers want to avoid any possible risks.

“USCA has long advocated that both Argentina and Brazil lack the necessary means to ensure safely exported beef”, said Jess Peterson, spokesman for the group. These include repackaging beef past its sell-by date, making turkey ham out of soyabeans rather than actual birds and overuse of potentially harmful additives.

In addition, the department assured consumers that officials at ports of entry have been vigilant when coming to meat imports. However, the numbers indicate that over the past week, the shipment of Brazilian meat essentially came to a halt.

Hong Kong was the second-biggest buyer of Brazilian meat previous year.

Also on Thursday, major fast-food chains in South Korea and Hong Kong pulled chicken, beef and pork off their menus as they scrambled to reassure customers about food safety as the scandal crisis intensified.

This story was originally written for Reuters by Dominique Patton. The department of imported food is very keen on examining the imports, said Khalaf Al-Mutairi, in charge of the services sector at Kuwait Municipality. Is it safe? We want to hear from you.