Mr McMahon said that the admission raised the most serious questions about the checks allegedly being carried out by the EU authorities. The beef chairman pointed out that the Brazilians themselves are now admitting to deficiencies in their controls but the EU seems happy to continue to import Brazilian beef. Despite report after report having been compiled by the FVO, the EU has continuously chosen to ignore what has been found, said Mr McMahon, who went on to describe the situation as “a disaster waiting to happen”.

“Despite the so-called ban on Brazilian beef in 2006, the quantities of Brazilian beef coming on to the market has declined only marginally.

“The Brazilian minister with direct responsibility, Mr Stephanes, has now publicly admitted to deficiencies and it is long past the time that the EU authorities required of the Brazilians the same high standards that they demanded of Irish farmers and averted what, it is clear for all to see, is a disaster waiting to happen.

“We have a situation where the Brazilians themselves are saying that they may have to use their own armed forces to ensure the creation of a secure, non-diseased area, which must mean that they themselves have no confidence in their so-called internal disease-free zones,” stated the beef chairman.

Source: The Meath Chronicle