Brazil is accusing the European Union of “unjustified barriers” to international trade because of the EU’s application of stricter anti-salmonella measures. The measures affect the import of Brazilian salted chicken meat and turkey meat with pepper.
Brazil has requested consultations with the EU at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), accusing the EU of applying “discriminatory sanitary controls” to block Brazilian imports.
The outcome should be interesting. On the one hand, Brazil has an unhappy record of food safety lapses and in 2018 the EU banned 20 Brazilian producers for food safety concerns said to be salmonella-related.
The following year the SA Poultry Association (SAPA) called for a ban on Brazilian imports after Brazil had to recall some poultry consignments because of salmonella contamination.
On the other hand, few would be surprised to discover that the EU is using health controls as a means to restrict poultry imports. The EU’s “trade defence” policies are strictly applied in the interests of EU producers.
