Brazilian Beef Import Banned By USDA, Meat Failed Safety Checks, Officials Say

After almost four months of inspection of meat products arriving in the U.S. from Brazil, the U.S. Department Of Agriculture (USDA) announced Thursday it had suspended the import of all fresh beef from the country. The decision was taken considering repeated concerns about the safety of the products intended for the U.S. market.

The ban on the meat products will "remain in place until the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture takes corrective action which the USDA finds satisfactory," the press release from the USDA stated.

"Since March, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has been inspecting 100 percent of all meat products arriving in the United States from Brazil. FSIS has refused entry to 11 percent of Brazilian fresh beef products. That figure is substantially higher than the rejection rate of one percent of shipments from the rest of the world," the press release said.

Read: Australian Tourists Allegedly Tricked Into Eating Dog Meat During A Vacation To Bali, Report Says

In March, several lawmakers and food safety advocates started pressuring the federal government to join other nations in blocking shipments of raw beef from Brazil amid a scandal in the country's meatpacking sector. The U.S. had started testing for pathogens in all beef imported from Brazil, reports said.

The controversy over Brazilian beef started in March when there were reports of investigations into corrupt activities among Brazil's biggest meatpackers, JBS SA and BRF SA. The investigations were a part of the mission "Operation Weak Flesh," conducted by federal police. The probe uncovered the illegal practices by meatpackers who would bribe both inspectors and politicians to overlook unsanitary practices at their processing facilities, which included processing rotten meat and trying to mask the stench of expired meats with chemicals, a report said.

The investigation also found that meatpackers had been shipping exports that had traces of a bacteria named salmonella. Meatpackers would often manipulate the export certificates so that they could easily ship their products to Europe.

Days after the investigation unmasked the reality behind the exports, countries around the world began blocking the import of Brazilian meat, with more countries joining the bandwagon. 12 countries who had limited the imports of Brazilian meat included the European Union, Chile, Mexico, Jamaica, Japan, Hong Kong, and China.

JBS, the world's largest meat packer, declined to comment on the U.S. ban, Reuters reported.

Read: During Yulin Dog Meat Festival In China, Restaurant Sells Delicious Canine Dishes, It Claims

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue released a statement Thursday stating, "Although international trade is an important part of what we do at USDA, and Brazil has long been one of our partners, my first priority is to protect American consumers. That’s what we’ve done by halting the import of Brazilian fresh beef."

The USDA's decision threatens the reputation of Brazilian meat. Brazil is also the world's top exporter of beef and poultry. However, the ban could cause a spike in domestic sales in the U.S., reports said.