Spokesman confirms China suspended imports of Brazil beef

Employees move packaged poultry at a meatpacking company in Brazil

A spokesman for China’s commerce ministry confirmed yesterday his government has banned imports of Brazilian beef.

Brazil’s agriculture minister said earlier China suspended imports after investigators accused Brazilian inspectors of taking bribes to overlook expired meat and chemicals. But until now Chinese officials have said only that they took unspecified precautions.

“The responsible departments of the Chinese government have taken timely and temporary measures to suspend the import of beef from Brazil,” said the spokesman, Sun Jiwen, at a regular briefing.

A written version of Sun’s comment given to reporters repeated the official statement that Beijing was taking “temporary measures,” with no mention of an import ban.

The Chinese food safety agency, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, has yet to respond to questions about what action it is taking.

Brazilian investigators say health inspectors also were bribed to overlook other products that were added to meat to improve its appearance and smell.

Other governments including the European Union, Japan and Mexico have limited or banned imports of Brazilian meat.

In Macau, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) reaffirmed in a statement to the press that the measure decided for promoting an embargo on imports of meat from Brazil is “only a precautionary measure.”

The region has temporarily suspended import applications for both frozen and chilled meat from Brazil and is said to be awaiting the most up-to-date information to decide whether any other measures are required, in regards to the case that reportedly affects 21 companies currently under investigation by the Brazilian authorities.

Regarding these companies, the IACM has already notified food establishments, wholesale importers and retail establishments to remove any detected products by the mentioned companies from the market.

The bureau added that so far there are no reports of any affected meat entering the territory, and all products with their respective certifications are being inspected, in order to guarantee the safety and quality of products available for consumption in Macau. MDT/Agencies