Washington – The United States suspended all imports of fresh Brazilian beef on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, after a high percentage of shipments failed to pass U.S. safety checks.
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The USDA had “recurring concerns about the safety of the products intended for the American market,” according to a statement.
In March, the USDA increased testing on raw beef and ready-to-eat products from Brazil as a precaution following a probe into corruption involving Brazil’s health inspectors.
Since then, the agency has rejected 11 percent of Brazilian fresh beef products, above the rejection rate of 1 percent for shipments from the rest of the world, the USDA said.
All together, the agency has refused entry to about 1.9 million pounds of Brazilian beef products due to public health concerns, sanitary conditions and animal health issues. The USDA said none of the rejected lots made it into the U.S. market.
The U.S. suspension will remain in place until Brazil’s agriculture ministry “takes corrective action which the USDA finds satisfactory,” according to the agency.
Brazil is the world’s biggest beef exporter.