Brazilian beef: unregulated and untraceable

The Brazilian beef industry have failed to comply with European Union (EU) regulations regarding traceability and farm origin of beef exported to the EU. The traceability directive was brought in in 2000, as a result of the BSE crisis, to resume customer confidence. The directive also means that beef can be traced to the farm and region it came from for Foot and Mouth disease.

In reality the chance of foot and mouth being transported in Brazilian beef is minimal, as there is no evidence of the disease there. But Brazilian beef is meant to be subject to the same regulations and guidelines in traceability as beef in the EU. Thirty per cent of our meat is now imported from non-EU countries, primarily Brazil and Argentina. Irish farmers argue that it is unfair to import beef that is not subject to the same level of scrutiny as Irish beef.

The EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) are the authority who inspects the systems and procedures for beef traceability in place in Brazil.

In their last inspection report of Brazil, from May 2004, they found that "a number of deficiencies identified in respect of animal identification and movement control undermine the possibility to trace back to the farm of origin." They said that "serious deficiencies" were found in relation to the Brazilian identification system (ISBOV) and certification of origin of bovine and buffaloes. The Brazilian authorities had set themselves a deadline of 2007 for the implementation of total traceability. But the FVO found that "a full implementation of the system by 2007 for all bovine seems unrealistic." Their inspection showed that only 16.5 million animals were registered with the Central Database, out of an estimated total of 200 million.

In relation to the ACB – the Accredited Certifying Body for animal identification – they found that the accreditation of the body itself was questionable. "The ACB had been accredited despite serious shortcomings being found during the pre-accreditation audit." Also, no proper follow-ups had been conducted in the 18 months since the non-compliances had been identified.

The major difference between the EU and Brazil in relation to the directive is that the directive is not law there. But the EU does have the power to stop the importation of the beef if they deemed it necessary. At the time of the last report Brazil gave guarantees that they would implement the changes and recommendations. Currently the FVO are on an inspection there and the next report will show if they have complied.

Emma Browne