Several industry associations have called on European policymakers to reconsider the EU-Mercosur trade deal following findings from an audit in Brazil.
The EU-Mercosur deal is an agreement between the European Union and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
A recently published audit report by DG Sante highlighted Brazil’s problems in meeting European food safety standards, particularly in detecting banned hormones.
The May and June 2024 audit revealed gaps in Brazil’s ability to trace hormone use in livestock exports to the EU, particularly estradiol 17β, a growth hormone banned in the EU due to its potential cancer risk.
Concerns about supervision
Despite the findings, the European Commission has allowed Brazilian authorities to implement their own measures to ensure hormone-free beef exports to Europe.
Farming groups including COPA-COGECA, AVEC (the Association of Poultry Processors and Traders in the EU), the European Union of Wholesalers of Eggs, Egg Products, Poultry and Game (EUWEP) and the Sustainable European Livestock and Meat Association (SELMA), said it decision raises serious concerns about the adequacy of supervision and the reliability of Brazil’s self-regulation.
They pointed to the Carne Fraca scandal, which exposed regulatory shortcomings in Brazil’s meat industry. Operation Carne Fraca was a federal police investigation that uncovered meat fraud involving some of the country’s largest companies. The findings were announced in 2017. As a result of the incident, major changes were made by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAPA).
“European farmers are alarmed by the potential risks of increasing imports from Brazil under the EU-Mercosur agreement, as this will undermine high EU standards for animal welfare, environmental protection and consumer health,” the groups said.
“Allowing access to the European market for products that do not meet these established standards would be a disservice to both EU producers and consumers. We urge EU policymakers to reject this agreement in its current form and advocate for a trade policy that upholds the high standards of our agricultural sector and reflects European values.”
Audit findings
Since 2020, there have been four RASFF notifications for residues of the pharmacologically active substances chloramphenicol, doramectin and oxytetracycline and the pesticide chlorate in food of animal origin (two each in beef and poultry) from Brazil.
The audit evaluated the implementation of official controls on residues of pharmacologically active substances, pesticides and contaminants in animals and animal products. DG Sante found that these control plans and the follow-up of non-compliant results were largely in line with the principles in EU law.
According to MAPA, Brazil exported 41,000 tons of beef and 59,000 tons of poultry meat to the EU in 2023. As of December 2023, about 1,220 cattle farms in nine states were on the company list that allows them to supply livestock to 53 EU-approved slaughterhouses. There are also 26 poultry slaughterhouses.
National legislation on the authorization of veterinary medicinal products and the ban on the use of hormones and beta-agonists for growth-promoting purposes in cattle was broadly similar to EU legislation.
However, the arrangements to ensure that cattle and meat for the EU market have never been treated with estradiol 17β have proven to be ineffective. The Brazilian system differs from that in the EU in terms of the retention of veterinary prescriptions and the lack of a legal obligation to keep records of medical treatments.
There are 23 veterinary medicinal products containing estradiol 17β approved in Brazil. None of the labels indicate that the product should not be used for cattle, the meat of which is intended for the EU market.
Brazilian officials said only male animals would be eligible for export to the EU until the implementation of a private protocol aimed at providing guarantees that females have never been treated with estradiol esters. Resumption of female exports is linked to actions proposed by the Ministry of Animal Health and has an implementation period of 12 months.
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