Switzerland prolonged ban on meat from Brazil, as many countries in the world

Switzerland has extended a ban on Brazilian meat to 21 processing plants from four as part of Europe-wide safety measures, Swiss authorities said on Sunday. EU veterinary experts recommended reinforced checks on imports of meat from Brazil on Friday after an investigation began there into bribery of food inspectors.

The moves are in response to a scandal that emerged last weekend, in which authorities in Brazil suspended over 30 government following allegations that some of the country’s biggest meat processors have been “selling rotten beef and poultry for years”.
"The extension of the ban is a response to European measures, aiming to prevent the meat from reaching European Union territory via Switzerland," a spokeswoman for Switzerland's food safety and veterinary office said.

Switzerland banned imports from four Brazilian meat processing facilities on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear how much meat Switzerland imports from Brazil.

Also Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Mexico and South Africa have all announced partial or all-out bans on Brazilian meat imports, following measures similar to those taken by China, South Korea and Chile. The industry took a domestic hit on Wednesday, as Walmart Brasil said in a statement that it had suspended the sale of all products from 21 processing plants named so far by police as being under investigation.

China and Hong Kong are the top two importers of Brazilian meats, last year buying nearly one-third of the $14 billion worth of meat that Latin America's largest economy exported.

The Brazilian government had already banned exports from those 21 plants – but allowed them to continue production and sales to the domestic market, a move that has angered some watchdog groups.
"Is the health of a Brazilian consumer not worth the same as that of a foreigner?" said Sonia Amaro, head of institutional relations at the Proteste consumer protection group.