US senator decides to punish Brazil

Brazil's cattle sector remains under international pressure. Calls for a ban on Brazilian meat imports are growing louder in the US .

Montana US Senator John Tester of the Democrats has introduced a bill to stop Brazilian beef imports. The reason is the harsher criticism of the Brazilian veterinary system and delays in reporting cases of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Previously, the powerful cattle breeders association, the National Animal Breeders Association (NCBA), called on US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to immediately stop importing fresh beef from Brazil.

According to the association, Brazil delayed reporting two atypical cases of BSE in June to its trading partners and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) by eight weeks, despite the OIE's 24-hour deadline for incidents of international concern. Political pressure for an import ban has also intensified in recent days because in early November, two patients in the state of Rio de Janeiro were diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease, presumably Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which, however, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture ( MAPA) is not associated with beef consumption.

"The time has come to keep Brazilian fresh beef out of the US until the USDA verifies that Brazilian produce meets the same food safety standards that we apply to all of our trading partners," said NCBA vice president Ethan Lane. A thorough risk assessment and analysis of manufacturing processes in Brazil is needed to identify diseases and other threats to consumers, Lane said. According to him, this includes checking the system of veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Brazil. He notes that shortcomings and a lack of transparency have raised serious doubts about Brazil's ability to produce beef with a level of safety equivalent to that of American producers. "If they can't reach that bar, their product doesn't belong here," Lane said.China was put on hold after the official confirmation of the BSE in September.

Meanwhile, there is currently some movement in the relationship with the supply of beef between Brazil and China, which was suspended due to cases of mad cow disease. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) released to the market batches of Brazilian beef that already had a national health certificate when cases of atypical BSE were reported on September 3 and were already clearing customs in China. The Brazilian Department of Agriculture sees this as a first step towards resuming regular exports to the People's Republic. It is hoped that the market opening process can be completed as early as this month.

Good news for Brazilian meat exporters came from Russia, which stopped importing beef and pork from the South American country after discovering residues of the growth stimulant ractopamine in December 2017. The Federal Inspection Service for Animal and Plant Health (Rosselkhoznadzor) allowed a total of 12 Brazilian beef and pork plants to resume deliveries to Russia. Rosselkhoznadzor announced inspection trips to Brazil for 2022. The goal is to approve additional production capacity for meat supplies to Russia in the future.