Banned in Europe, Chicken With Salmonella is Legally Resold in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The case was uncovered by an investigation conducted by Repórter Brasil in partnership with British newspaper The Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Between April 2017 and November 2018, around 1 million frozen birds (or 1,400 tonnes) were banned in UK ports for not meeting European health standards — stricter than in Brazil.

Even after Operation Carne Fraca (Weak Flesh), which identified issues in meat quality control in 2017, European ports continue rejecting the admission of Brazilian containers with contaminated products.

This meat returns to Brazil, where it is processed and delivered to supermarket shelves.

The return to Brazil of part of containers carrying contaminated products was evidenced by internal documents obtained from the British Food Standards Agency.

In addition to confirming the return of this contaminated chicken to Brazil, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA) clarified what happens to this meat when it returns to the country.

In the Brazilian market, the banned product may follow two paths, depending on the type of salmonella present.

If it is bacteria with a potential risk to human health — which occurs in less than one percent of cases, according to the ministry — the contaminated chicken is cooked, and the meat is processed into by-products, such as nuggets, sausages, frankfurters, and chicken mortadella.

However, if the contamination is by bacteria that do not pose health risks, the product is released on the domestic market and ends up in butchers and supermarkets.

The cooking or frying of contaminated meat kills microorganisms and eliminates health risks, according to Ana Lucia Viana, director of the Department of Inspection of Animal Products (Dipoa), of the Ministry of Agriculture.

There are some 2,600 types of salmonella, but not all cause infections in humans. There are two types, however, that could lead to death.

The ABPA, representing the major animal protein producers in Brazil, states that “shipments that do not meet the criteria established by the European Union are returned and subjected to treatment that ensures the safety of meat for processing.”

Consumer associations, however, criticize the return of contaminated lots to Brazil.

“This kind of practice is a great disrespect to Brazilian consumers, who are exposed to products of poorer quality on the market because of the lower level of sanitary demand in the country. This could have negative health implications for the population,” says nutritionist Ana Paula Bortoletto of the Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection (Idec).

In Brazil, tests conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture show that around eighteen percent of chicken meat is infected with salmonella — which is within legal limits since Brazilian regulations tolerate up to twenty percent contamination.

In Europe, the proportion of contaminated fowl is only 3.3 percent, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

“Europe is one step ahead of us in this control. So, whoever wants to access this market, must attend to its rules,” says Viana, from Dipoa.

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