APHIS approves beef imports from two South American regions

The agency announced it will amend regulations to allow for the importation of chilled and frozen beef from Northern Argentina and fourteen states in Brazil.    The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending its regulations to allow the importation of chilled and frozen beef from certain regions in Brazil and Argentina after concluding the regions can comply with U.S. import certification requirements.
   The two regions include Northern Argentina and fourteen states in Brazil – Bahia,  Distrito Federal, Espirito Santo, Goias, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Parana, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Rondonia, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, and Tocantis – APHIS said in a statement.
   Fresh beef from these regions will undergo the same import conditions as fresh beef and ovine meat imported from Uruguay, which has been exporting safely to the U.S. for many years.
   Before the U.S. officially begins importing beef from these regions, the USDA will assess the equivalence of Brazil and Argentina’s food safety standards with U.S. standards through a review of their regulatory programs and an in-country audit of their food safety systems.
   These rules will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, APHIS said in a statement.