Brazil to Improve Animal Health Control
BRUSSELS - Brazil's agriculture minister on Tuesday promised his country would comply with EU animal health requirements by the end of the year to avoid risking an extension of a partial EU import ban on Brazilian beef.
17 October 2007
1 minute read
The EU's executive Commission will decide by the end of the year whether to tighten the restrictions, after assessing health controls implemented by the South American nation. An EU ban is in place on imports from three Brazilian states due to the presence of foot-and-mouth disease, and the EU imposes strict safety measures on beef from other parts of the country.
"We're certain all the requirements will be complied with ... within the (end-of-the-year) deadline," Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes said.
He said that Brazil exports meat to 140 countries and "the fact we haven't yet complied with all the EU requirements doesn't mean we don't have a quality product. Some of the requirements have only been imposed on us by the Europeans."
EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou said the EU would carry out three inspections in Brazil in November and evaluate by the end of the year whether deficiencies - such as problems with traceability of cattle - remain.
