EU suspends Brazilian meat imports amid safety concerns

The European Union has announced it will suspend imports of Brazilian meat and other animal products starting Thursday, pending assurances from Brazil that it is complying with EU animal health rules. The European Commission has expressed concern that Brazil has not provided sufficient guarantees that its exports meet EU standards aimed at preventing the misuse of antibiotics in livestock farming.

This ban will affect commodities such as poultry, meat, eggs, honey, and casing. Brazil's inclusion on the EU's list of countries that do not comply with antibiotic use rules in animals was announced in May. An audit of Brazil's poultry and honey sectors is scheduled to conclude on Friday, and if the findings are positive and EU member states give approval, Brazilian poultry exports to the bloc could resume within weeks.

The EU is working closely with Brazilian authorities to ensure compliance with these requirements, and the timeline for resuming imports will depend on how quickly Brazil can demonstrate compliance with EU regulations.

Brief written by urgent.news from RTE News's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.