Sanitation concerns arise after police sting; some countries vow
to suspend their imports
By Paul Kiernan
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian authorities tried to contain the
fallout from a police sting that has raised questions about the
safety of the nation's meat industry, as governments around the
world moved to suspend imports due to sanitary concerns.
China, the biggest buyer of Brazilian meat, along with South
Korea, the European Union, Egypt and Chile took steps to
temporarily ban imports from either Brazil or specific companies
accused by Brazilian federal police Friday of bribing sanitary
officials for health certificates, while the U.S. and other
countries said they would increase inspections. Among the dozens of
companies targeted are some of the world's biggest producers and
exporters of chicken and beef, including JBS SA and BRF SA.
Both companies have denied selling bad meat or bribing
officials.
Brazil's leaders fear that police allegations that meatpackers
peddled rotten, salmonella-infested products could tarnish one of
the country's most vibrant industries just as the economy is
fighting to recover from its deepest recession on record. Brazil is
the world's second-largest producer of chicken and beef, trailing
only the U.S., and meat products are among its top exports.
Consumers here and abroad grew concerned as the allegations made
international news. "We've been cheated if all of this is true,"
said Patricio Buccioni, a 68-year-old taxi driver in Santiago who
often buys Brazilian beef at the supermarket. Asked whether he will
continue to do so in the future, Mr. Buccioni said, "I'm going to
be more careful."
The investigation, dubbed "Weak Flesh," left Brazilian
authorities walking a fine line as they sought to calm consumers
and trade partners without appearing dismissive of the police's
findings. The operation is the latest in a string of high-profile
corruption investigations that have shaken Brazil and weakened
confidence in the government.
"Agribusiness for us in Brazil is an extremely important thing,
and it must not be devalued by a small nucleus," President Michel
Temer said Monday in a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce
in São Paulo. "We export to more than 150 countries, and obviously,
to reach this number, we worked for a long time."
Mr. Temer has been huddling with regulators, meat producers and
foreign officials to discuss the investigation and reassure them
that Brazilian meat is safe. After back-to-back meetings Sunday,
the president treated 19 ambassadors and eight foreign trade
officials to dinner at Steak Bull, a plush, all-you-can-eat grill
near the presidential palace.
In a Twitter video featuring uplifting music and scenes of green
pastures, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi, himself the owner of
huge tracts of farmland in Brazil's interior, said that "the vast
majority" of government workers are trustworthy and that only 21 of
the country's 4,837 meat plants are under investigation.
Talking to reporters on Sunday, Mr. Maggi criticized the federal
police for not clarifying some information with the ministry before
releasing it to the public. For instance, police highlighted the
use of meat from pigs' heads in sausages, a practice Mr. Maggi said
is in fact legal in Brazil.
And some meat-loving Brazilians shrugged off the concerns.
"Yesterday, I had a barbecue with my family and friends," said
José Molina, a 57-year-old advertising worker, while preparing for
a meat-heavy lunch at a São Paulo steakhouse. "I think there's
exaggeration and that the situation will go back to normal
soon."
But governments in several of Brazil's largest export markets
expressed worry, and industry officials were bracing for further
restrictions. Brazil's nightmare scenario would be if foreign
governments made the temporary suspensions announced Monday into
more permanent bans, which could take years to overturn.
"I wish, I expect, I pray that it doesn't happen," Mr. Maggi
said in a press conference Monday after China announced the
suspension of Brazilian imports.
China informed the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry on Monday that
it will ban meat imports from the South American country until
Brazil's government explains the situation. Mr. Maggi was scheduled
to hold a videoconference with Chinese authorities on Monday night
to "provide clarification," the Brazilian ministry said. China
imported nearly $2 billion of meat products from Brazil last
year.
Enrico Brivio, spokesman for public health and food safety at
the European Commission, said Monday during a news briefing that
the bloc is moving to suspend imports from "any of the
establishments implicated in the fraud."
"We've asked our member states to remain vigilant and
increase...controls on meats coming from Brazil," Mr. Brivio said,
referring to "documentary and physical checks."
The Agriculture Ministry of Chile, one of Brazil's top-10 export
markets, said on Twitter that it had suspended imports of Brazilian
beef until it receives further details.
South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it wouldn't
allow chicken already imported by BRF to be sold or to circulate in
the country.
Egypt temporarily suspended imports of poultry and other meat
from Brazil pending a response from the Brazilian Embassy in Cairo
to questions sent by the local authorities, Agriculture Ministry
spokesperson Hamed Abduldayem said.
U.S. authorities are now doing more examinations of "raw beef
trimmings and ready-to-eat product" from Brazil for possible
pathogens, according to the USDA.
BRF said Monday that it hasn't been officially notified by
foreign or domestic authorities of any suspension by countries
where it does business.
Industry officials sought to play down the scandal by calling
the police's conclusions into question. Antonio Jorge Camardelli,
head of beef exporters' group ABIEC, said in a news conference
Monday the police based some of their allegations on technical
mistakes, asserting an "unnecessary crisis" had resulted.
While too soon to know the full impact, Neil Shearing, chief
emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said that the
scandal could "plausibly derail the country's economic recovery" if
it continues to grow.
"It goes without saying that this is the last thing that
Brazil's economy needed," Mr. Shearing said.
--Emre Peker,
Jeffrey T. Lewis
, Luciana Magalhães,
Samantha Pearson
, Lucy Craymer and Ryan Dube contributed to this article.
Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 21, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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