SA bans imports of Brazilian meat

South Africa’s Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has banned the importation of meat from Brazilian producers that have been implicated in the country’s recent meat scandal, the department said in a statement on Saturday, March 22.

South Africa receives most of its imported meat from Brazil  –  where some meat producers, including the country’s two biggest, JBS and BRF  –  have been accused of bribing Brazilian officials to allow them to export with fraudulent documentation and process rotten meat.

“We requested the Brazilian authority to provide official information and a list of establishments that have been identified in the issue raised in the media regarding unsafe meat being exported to various countries, which could include South Africa. DAFF has also advised the Brazilian authority to ban all exportation of meat from such establishments until the issue has been resolved to the satisfaction of the South African Veterinary Authority,” the statement read.

The DAFF said its officials, at all ports of entry that receive meat, have been instructed to test every container of meat from Brazil using the existing policies regarding testing of consignments. Consignments may be tested microbiologically for organisms such as salmonella.

“The DAFF wishes to assure the consumers that the officials at ports of entry have always been vigilant on meat imports from any country to ensure compliance with sanitary requirements, which are put in place to protect both the consumers and animals against food safety hazards and animal diseases respectively.”