Mozambique bans chickens from Brazil after rotten meat scandal

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

The target, according to National Director of Trade Zulmira Macamo is Brazilian chickens, following a police investigation by into corruption and crimes against public health in the meat and chicken trade.

Yesterday the government suspended 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 from South Africa or European countries could be Brazilian.

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

National Inspectorate of Economic Activities head 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 R14m).

The chickens were kept in freezers while laboratory inspections were undertaken. Samples were sent for microbiological analysis abroad and results were expected within a week. If found to cause no health problems, the chickens would be put back on sale. But anything unfit for human consumption would be destroyed.

The scandal in Brazil involved the use of food additives to disguise the fact that the meat was going rotten.