US Senator Jon Tester introduced a bill this Thursday (18) to suspend Brazilian beef imports into the country and asked experts to review “commodity safety” after press reports that Brazil delayed the communication of two cases of mad cow disease.
The Tester bill, which is Democrat from Montana, follows political pressure from US cattle producers who are calling for a suspension of imports of fresh Brazilian beef over questions about what processes Brazil uses to detect animal diseases and other possible threats from food for consumers.
Brazil, the world’s largest beef exporter, has suspended exports to its main partner, China, after confirmation in early September of two “atypical” cases of mad cow disease — or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) — in two separate domestic units.
But the cases were originally detected in June, well before they were reported to trading partners at the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), according to a November 12 letter sent by the National Meat Producers Association to the Department of Agriculture of the USA (USDA).
The USDA, which regulates beef imports into the United States, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The United States imported $62.3 million of beef and beef products from Brazil in the first nine months of the year, a 36% increase over the same period a year earlier, according to US trade data. In total volume, Brazil was the second largest supplier of beef and product imports to the US in the period, only behind Mexico.
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