The Irish Farmers’ Association National Livestock Chairman John Bryan said IFA has proved that Brazilian beef is produced without proper controls and fails to meet European standards.

Mr Bryan said the recent IFA mission had uncovered irrefutable evidence, proving widespread tag removal and no traceability, ineffective FMD controls on animal movements and on the borders, and the use of hormone growth promoters that are banned in the EU.

He said: "The mission had visited farms which were selling livestock for export into the EU in the state of Matto Grosso. On these farms, there were no proper traceability or veterinary medicine controls. On some of the farms which were selling cattle for export to the EU, none of the animals had any ear tags whatsoever."

Mr Bryan said the EU Commission was in denial in relation to the total lack of standards at farm level in Brazil.

He said: "It seems the EU Commission - DG Sanco - is prepared to turn a blind eye to the failure of Brazil to meet the required EU standards at farm level.

"Commissioner Kyprianou has very serious questions to answer to European consumers and livestock producers in relation to the unnecessary risk he is taking with Brazilian beef imports," he said.

He said food safety authorities in a number of countries around the world - the USA, Japan, North Korea, Australia and New Zealand - are simply not prepared to take this risk with fresh beef imports from Brazil and have a total in place.

Source: Meatnews.com