European Commission audits Brazil’s food safety

A recent European Commission audit of Brazil’s meat infrastructure and food safety measures regarding the production of beef, horse, and poultry meat and products destined for export to the European Union found that “the Brazilian official control system … has the capacity to provide the necessary guarantees. However, the shortcomings detected during the audit demonstrate that, for all sectors with the exclusion of beef, the system is not fully or effectively implemented and this compromises the reliability of export certification.” The audit began in May following the announcement of Brazil’s “rotten meat” scandal. It was released by the European Commission at the end of September.