Steaks are high for Brazilian Beef
Posted, May 06, 2008 @ 00:00
Conservative MEP wary of return for Brazilian beef after rumpus with Brazilian politicians.
Brussels, 6th May 2008 ---- Conservative MEP and Chairman of the European Parliament Agriculture Committee, Neil Parish has ruled out a quick return to large scale imports of Brazilian beef after meeting with Brazilian politicians and visiting several Brazilian farms hoping to gain licences to export into the EU
The European Commission imposed a ban on Brazilian beef in February, following damning reports of the situation in Brazil by the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) and the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO). Mr Parish then led a delegation from the European Parliament Agriculture Committee to see for himself whether the deficiencies that led to the ban, such as a lack of ear tags and an effective system of traceability for cattle, still existed in farms hoping to be allowed to export again to the EU.
Speaking after his return, Mr Parish said:
"I'm not going to mince my words- some Brazilian farms are good and some not so good. However what concerned me most was the arrogance of some Brazilian politicians, who did not seem to want to work within the rules that the EU and Brazil had jointly agreed to.
"Their bullish and indifferent attitude to our concerns does a disservice to Brazilian farmers, many of whom are ready to take the steps needed to meet our regulations. We are not going to negotiate on this, I am very happy to see Brazilian beef imported into the EU, but any meat that does come in must meet our standards.
"During a visit to a slaughter house we saw some of the deficiencies that had been identified in the previous reports, including cracked floors and cattle arriving for slaughter without ear tags, which would not be acceptable in the EU. These lapses have to be addressed before we can ease the ban.
"Farmers in the UK have complete traceability of cattle from birth to the abattoir, yet we only ask Brazil for 90 days traceability within a region and 40 days on a particular farm. Despite this they are still unable to provide it.
"There can be no ifs or buts- either Brazilian beef meets our conditions or it doesn't. If is does, we will welcome it, but if it doesn't, our gate will remain firmly closed."