BRASILIA: The Brazilian Agriculture Ministry suspended five meat exports from five producers to the United States. U.S. health officials detected reactions to the foot-and-mouth disease vaccine. The ban will remain until producers take “corrective measures”, Brazilian officials said.
However, according to Antonio Camardelli, the president of the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporters (Abiec), the problem lies with the vaccine. It causes internal abscesses in the animals. Camardelli said the ball’s not in his court, and that it’s up to the vaccine producers to find a solution.
The US is one of the few countries that did suspend purchases after the Weak Meat Operation.
On March 17, Brazil’s Federal Police launched the largest operation against agribusiness corruption. A total of 63 people have been indicted for taking part in a vast corruption scheme within the Ministry of Agriculture. Furthermore, federal auditors were accepting bribes for years in exchange for fraudulent sanitary permits.
The unsanitary practices included selling spoiled meat and injecting water to sell poultry at higher prices. Police also reported that the producers under investigation used ascorbic acid and other chemical ingredients, in quantities far above the legally permitted amount, to “disguise the physical aspect or smell of rotten meat.”
Police charged the suspects with the crimes of falsifying medical records and certificates, tampering with food products, conspiracy and corruption. The list of those facing prosecution currently includes senior government officials and executives at giants JBS and BRF.
After the affair became public, exports dropped to practically zero. Over the first week following the scandal, exports were down to an all-time low of $74,000 from $63 million. The number is 851 times lower than the norm.
Dozens of countries imposed restrictions to Brazilian meat, but have since lifted them.
Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of beef and poultry, and the fourth largest exporter of pork.
