U.S. steps up Brazilian beef import inspections

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said it will step up pathogen testing on all shipments of raw beef and “ready-to-eat” products from Brazil, instead of imposing a ban on these imports.    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said it will step up pathogen testing on all shipments of raw beef and “ready-to-eat” products from Brazil, instead of imposing a ban on these imports.
   The USDA is taking this step after recent allegations that Brazilian government investigators found the South American country’s beef industry was paying bribes to sanitary officials to turn a blind eye to shipping spoiled meat abroad.
   FSIS said that starting March 18, it had increased its examination of these products at ports of entry across the country. The agency said it will “indefinitely maintain its 100 percent re-inspection and pathogen testing of all lots of FSIS-regulated products imported from Brazil.”
   FSIS works closely with Customs and Border Protection and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service with its inspection of Brazilian beef shipments upon their arrival in U.S. ports.
   None of the meat processors implicated in the Brazil investigation, including the country’s two largest meat exporters, JBS and BRF, ship products to the U.S., FSIS said.
   The agency’s re-inspection activities includes testing Brazil beef trimmings for Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and non-O157 shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC). For ready-to-eat products, the agency’s re-inspections will also look for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.
   “FSIS will take immediate action to refuse entry of product into the United States if there are findings of food safety concern,” the agency said.
   Meanwhile, in response to the Brazilian meat scandal, the European Union, China, South Korea, Egypt and Chile have already issued temporary bans on these imports.