The vote followed a presentation to the European Parliament in July of the findings of the IFA/Farmers Journal mission to Brazil, which took place in May.

Padraig Walshe (pictured) said "the EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection Markos Kyprianou can no longer ignore the unacceptable standards in Brazil which cannot provide the guarantees that Europe requires, and must therefore immediately impose a total ban on Brazilian beef imports."

Mr Walshe said in Brazil, Foot and Mouth is endemic, there is a haphazard vaccination programme and there are no effective controls on the movement of cattle across borders and between FMD restricted and unrestricted states.

On top of this, there is no reliable cattle traceability, routine cutting out of tags to remove animal identity and no monitoring of cattle treatments.

Source: Farming Life