A former chair of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) does not believe Brazil can meet a deadline to comply with EU regulations regarding the use of antimicrobials in livestock.

Last month, the European Commission confirmed that Brazil will no longer be authorised to export a range of animal products to the EU from September 3.

This follows a vote by member states on an updated list of third countries authorised to export food-producing animals and animal products to the EU.

The commission has said that to be included in the list Brazil "must ensure compliance with the union requirements on the use of antimicrobials for the entire lifetime of the animals that the exported products originate from".

The Brazilian government said it was "surprised" about the country's removal from the list and said it will "promptly take all necessary measures to reverse this decision".

"It is worth noting that, at the moment, Brazilian exports of animal products continue normally," the government said.

Brazil

However, Dr. Patrick Wall, a former EFSA chair, told Independent Ireland MEP Ciaran Mullooly that he believes it will not be technically possible for Brazil to be restored onto the EU export list by the September deadline.

Dr. Wall, who is also a former chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), met with the Midlands-North-West MEP and Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice over the weekend.

"Brazil is phenomenal exporter of beef globally, they are a major player and they have 230 million head of cattle. They have the most advanced abattoirs in the world.

"They can ship meat anywhere chilled with a good shelf life so they have very good hygiene standards, so you're not talking about lightweights when you're talking about Brazil.

"However, in Brazil they don't have traceability from birth like we have in the EU," Dr. Wall said.

Dr. Wall noted that Brazil is currently working on a full traceability system for its entire cattle herd, similar to the EU, but this is not expected until 2036.

"The animals being brought to slaughter this coming September will be two-years-old. We can't go back two years and retrospectively get reliable traceability.

"They might start in September of this year going forward, but they won't be able to go back two years. So, it won't be possible," he said.

He noted that Brazilian beef traceability records currently relate to 90 days duration.

Dr. Wall said he will accept an invitation from the Independent Ireland MEP to travel to Brussels to meet EU officials and provide further information on the issue in the coming weeks.

Brazilian beef

MEP Mullooly has written to European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Oliver Varhelyi asking him to enforce the ban on Brazilian beef entering the EU from September 3, 2026.

The MEP has also forwarded Dr Wall's comments to the EU's Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE).

"Public health and food safety are of the highest concern to me as both an MEP and an EU food consumer.

"I hope you will agree with me that we cannot simply proceed in these circumstances without first addressing the public concerns and must await scientifically proven guarantees on antimicrobial and growth promoter use in Brazil before any move to restore Brazilian beef to a list of safe countries," Mullooly said.

Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice has called on the Irish government to raise Dr. Wall's statement at the highest possible level in the European Commission.

"It is my opinion that we have jumped the gun with the Mercosur deal for the simple reason that it doesn’t add up," he said.