USDA halts Brazilian beef imports

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suspended all imports of fresh beef from Brazil, citing concerns about the safety of these products.    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has halted all imports of fresh beef from Brazil, citing ongoing concerns about the safety of these products.
   The suspension of these shipments will remain in place until the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture takes corrective action which the USDA finds satisfactory, the USDA said in a statement.
   Since March, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has been inspecting 100 percent of all meat products arriving in the United States from Brazil. FSIS has since refused entry to 11 percent of fresh beef products from the South American country.
   “That figure is substantially higher than the rejection rate of one percent of shipments from the rest of the world,” USDA said.
   Specifically, FSIS inspectors have refused entry to 106 lots (about 1.9 million pounds) of Brazilian beef products due to public health concerns, sanitary conditions, and animal health issues. The agency said that none of the rejected shipments made into the U.S. market.
   USDA said the Brazilian government has pledged to address these concerns, even “self-suspending” five facilities from exporting beef to the United States. 
   “Although international trade is an important part of what we do at USDA, and Brazil has long been one of our partners, my first priority is to protect American consumers,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue. “That’s what we’ve done by halting the import of Brazilian fresh beef.”