A European Union audit of Brazilian poultry and honey producers found the country’s control system satisfactory, removing a key technical obstacle to the resumption of imports, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said Monday.
The ministry said the findings showed there was no technical impediment to reinstating Brazil on the EU’s list of countries authorized to export poultry meat and honey. The remaining steps are administrative and must be completed by European authorities, it said.
Following the release of the audit findings on Monday, Brazil asked for the report to be placed on the agenda of the European Commission’s next meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, or SCoPAFF, which is responsible for the final decision. The meeting is scheduled for Oct. 20-21.
EU imports of Brazilian animal products have been suspended since Sept. 3 after the bloc said Brazil had failed to demonstrate that its control system could ensure compliance with European rules banning the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters.
The audit, conducted from Aug. 24 to Sept. 4, was designed to assess whether Brazilian procedures and controls could provide adequate guarantees that products shipped to the EU comply with those requirements.
Inspectors from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, known as DG SANTE, concluded that Brazil’s legal framework, inspection procedures, training of inspectors and official controls were capable of providing the guarantees required under EU law, according to the ministry.
Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said it will continue technical discussions with European authorities and monitor the remaining steps needed for the country to be reinstated among suppliers that comply with the bloc’s rules on antibiotic use in animal products.
This story was translated from the original Portuguese with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by The AgriBiz editorial staff.
