Enhanced checks on beef, poultry, and other meat products imported from Brazil will no longer be conducted as the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) issued new advice last month (July 2023). This change comes after the Brazilian government launched operation ‘Carne Fraca’ in 2017, which revealed allegations of fraud within the country’s meat industry. However, following an audit conducted in Brazil during October 2022, Defra has released its new recommendations.
During an 11-day trip, auditors visited Brazilian authorities responsible for food safety, as well as eight abattoirs, four laboratories, two certification centres, and two farms. The subsequent audit report concluded that enhanced checks were no longer necessary.
As a result, meat products imported into England, Scotland, and Wales will no longer undergo Salmonella testing before leaving Brazil or upon arrival in Britain. Additionally, the requirement for additional certification has been lifted, and certain meat production sites in Brazil can be relisted.
Defra noted that the number of non-compliance incidents with regulations between 2020 and 2022 was consistently low, with only 12 incidents recorded. Since the implementation of stricter checks in 2017, Brazilian authorities have introduced additional risk mitigation measures in line with EU requirements. They have also restructured the central competent authority and implemented measures to enhance oversight and control of meat production.
According to the audit report, the Brazilian competent authorities have made significant progress in rectifying the systemic failings in control framework and application that led to the enhanced salmonella controls and suspension of pre-listing of beef and poultry establishments. The audit concluded with 18 recommendations for the future policing of imports, inviting the Brazilian central competent authority to respond with an action plan.
In related news, the Chilled Food Association has recently released new guidance on the management of Listeria monocytogenes within ready-to-eat food production.
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Note that the quote “The audit found that the Brazilian competent authorities have made significant progress in correcting the systemic failings in the framework of controls, and the application of those controls, that led to the imposition of enhanced salmonella controls for poultry meat and poultry and beef meat products and preparations and the suspension of pre-listing of beef and poultry establishments,” is a direct quote from the original article and should not be altered.
