Three more countries — Taiwan, Chile and Jordan — have imposed restrictions on Brazilian beef after it was revealed in early December the country had a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in 2010, according to Meatingplace.
China, Japan, South Africa, Lebanon, Peru, and Saudi Arabia have also all reportedly put bans in place since in the past few weeks, but not all of those countries have yet informed Brazil.
While Brazil officially says eight countries have taken actions against their beef products after the news, the U.S.-based meat trade publication Meatingplace says there are actually 10 total.
According to the report, “Jordan is prohibiting beef products only from Parana state, where the BSE case was cited, while Chile is restricting Brazilian bone flour (farinha de osso) and beef flour (farinha de carne). Taiwan has also sent confirmation of a Brazilian beef ban, though Taiwan already restricts raw beef imports.”
Brazil, which is the largest exporter of beef, says it will take strong actions against countries with import restrictions, arguing that these moves are not based on science.
“There is no basis for these decisions on health parameters and the government is analyzing what measures will be taken,” said Brazil’s foreign trade secretary Tatiana Prazeres. “Taking action at the WTO is on our radar.”
According to Brazil, the cow in question was 13 years old and grass fed, which meant that it was a genetic mutation, not caused by contaminated feed. The animal tested positive for the protein that causes the disease.
