FARMING leaders in the UK are calling for an urgent ban on Brazilian meat imports amid concerns over antibiotic use and the potential impact on public health.
The four UK farming unions have joined forces to urge the UK Government to follow new European restrictions on Brazilian meat which are due to come into force on Thursday, September 3.
NFU Scotland, alongside the NFU, Ulster Farmers’ Union and NFU Cymru, has written to Defra Secretary of State Dame Angela Eagle calling for a UK-wide prohibition on Brazilian Products of Animal Origin (POAO).
The unions say Brazil has been unable to demonstrate compliance with European Union rules designed to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the growing resistance of bacteria and other microbes to medicines used to treat infections.
Restrictions on Brazilian animal products are due to come into force across the EU and a number of European Economic Area countries, including Norway.
The farming organisations fear that without similar action in Britain, Brazilian beef and poultry which can no longer enter European markets could instead be diverted to the UK.
They have also raised concerns about consumers being unable to identify where some imported meat has come from, as much of the Brazilian meat entering Britain is destined for the food service sector, where country-of-origin labelling is not generally required.
The use of antibiotics for growth promotion has been banned in the UK and EU since 2006.
According to the farming unions, UK agriculture has reduced its use of antibiotics by almost 60 per cent since 2014, while use of antibiotics considered critically important to human health has fallen by 83 per cent.
The unions argue that allowing imports produced to different standards risks undermining those efforts and damaging consumer confidence in British beef and poultry.
In a joint statement, the presidents of the four farming unions said: “Ensuring the health and safety of the nation is a core responsibility of any government and the UK has long recognised the risks posed by AMR.
“UK farmers have worked hard to cut antibiotic use and maintain some of the highest production standards in the world – we should demand the same of our imported food.
“Failure to act will not only expose the nation to a public health risk, but damage consumer confidence in beef and poultry as a whole.
“Combined with the additional complications it would cause trading with our farming colleagues in Northern Ireland and the very real threat of Brazilian meat being diverted onto the GB market, it would only pile further pressure on producers here at home.”
The unions said the lack of a government response was “unacceptable” with only days remaining before the European restrictions take effect.
They are calling for all Brazilian animal products to be prohibited from entering Great Britain from September 3 until Brazil can demonstrate that meat destined for the British market is being produced responsibly.
They also want the UK Government to carry out an in-person audit of Brazilian production and traceability systems and increase checks on Brazilian animal products entering the country, including random and risk-based sampling for prohibited residues.
In the longer term, the unions are calling for a UK framework of core production standards which would apply equally to home-produced and imported food.
They argue this would prevent British farmers being undercut by products produced using practices which are prohibited in the UK, including the use of antimicrobials for growth promotion.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw first raised the issue with Dame Angela during a meeting more than a month ago, during her first week as Defra Secretary.
