Health Ministry imposes hold, test, release measures on Brazilian meat

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry has imposed the hold, test inspect and release measures on meat imported from Brazil following a corruption issue involving meat processing plants there to obtain a certificate.

In a statement yesterday, Health director- general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in addition to the requirement of the health certificate from the Brazilian authorities by Malaysia’s Health Ministry, the inspection was taken as a precautionary measure.

He said that effective Jan 1, 2005, the ministry had imposed the condition that all meat imports to Malaysia should be accompanied by a health certificate from the authorities confirming that it was safe for consumption.

If the health certificate was not included with the imported consignment, the consignment would not be allowed into the country, he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry was also working closely with the Brazilian embassy in Kuala Lumpur over the matter.

He said based on information from the Food Safety Information System of Malaysia ( FoSIM), Malaysia was importing meat from Brazil.

“Throughout 2015 and 2016, the Health Ministry’s monitoring of meat from Brazil found compliance with the Food Act 1983 and the regulations under it,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Dr Noor Hisham said that at the discussion with the Brazilian embassy in Malaysia on March 22, the embassy explained that out of the 4,837 meat processing plants in Brazil, only 21 plants processed the affected meat and it was found this meat was not exported to Malaysia.

“Currently, Brazil has banned all the 21 meat processing plants from exporting meat to other countries,” he said. — Bernama