Mozambique bans chicken imports

MAPUTO: The Mozambican government yesterday announced a total ban on the import of chickens, including from South Africa.

The target of the ban, according to the National Director of Trade, Zulmira Macamo, is Brazilian chickens, following the investigation by the Brazilian Federal Police, codenamed “Operation Rotten Meat”, into corruption and crimes against public health in the Brazilian meat and chicken trade.

The government has decided to suspend the import of all meat from Brazil and chickens from anywhere.

Macamo said this was because Brazilian chickens were sent all over the world and often re-packaged and re-exported. Thus chickens labelled as from South Africa or European countries could be Brazilian, she said.

Mozambican poultry producers have long complained at what they regard as unfair competition from cheap imported chickens. Now they have an opportunity to rise to the challenge and supply the market without any Brazilian competition. Macamo believes this is possible, with the major domestic poultry producers able to provide about 1 000 tons of chicken a month.

Head of the National Inspectorate of Economic Activities Maria Rita Freitas, said 603 brigades had fanned out across the country, finding imported chickens on sale in every province except Niassa.

The inspectors seized 526 tons of imported chicken, valued at 76.8 million meticais (about R14 700).

The chickens were placed in freezers, in the care of the shops or other companies that own them, while laboratory inspections were undertaken. Samples were sent for microbiological analysis abroad and results were expected within a week. If the samples are found to cause no health problems, the chickens can be put back on sale. But anything that is unfit for human consumption will be destroyed.

The scandal uncovered in Brazil involved the use of food additives (such as ascorbic acid or sodium nitrate) to disguise the fact that the meat was going rotten.