The Scots will be joined by representatives from the Irish Farmers Association and the Irish Farmers Journal who earlier this year on a fact-finding mission uncovered what they allege are widespread failures regarding animal health and welfare as well as an apparent lack of traceability in Brazil.

In addition, Alyn Smith, a Scottish Nationalist MEP, will formally lodge the protest petition organised by the SBCA and signed by over 4,000 people at last month's Royal Highland show to the EU's petitions committee.

A letter has already been sent to Markos Kyprianou, the EU commissioner for health and consumer protection, calling for an immediate ban on imports from Brazil until standards are brought up to EU levels. Support has also come from the influential pressure group Fairness for Farmers in Europe (FFE).

Cameron said: "It is now clear that there is a wide body of opposition [to imports] from many different EU organisations who are all concerned about the apparent lack of compliance by Brazil to EU standards. We will be supporting our presentation to the agriculture committee with visual evidence of how Brazilian beef farms are run. It will be interesting to witness the reaction of such an influential body of MEPs."

Speaking from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, William Taylor, the co-ordinator of FFE, added: "We have written to the EU ombudsman Nikiforus Diamondourous stressing our concern that the European Council and the commission are guilty of maladministration by failing to act on evidence suggesting that Brazil could pose a real and immediate threat to human and animal health.

Source: Scotsman