Low-key approach to Brazilian meat scandal

The European Commission has taken a relatively low-key approach to the meat scandal in Brazil.

Despite calls for a blanket ban, Brussels has limited its response to a temporary ban on the four export processing plants named in the scandal.

It has also said that the trade talks between the EU and the Mercosur countries of South America, which include Brazil, will not be affected by the corruption allegations.

These relate to the bribing of government officials to issue false health certificates. Brazil is now running a massive campaign to reassure other countries about its standards.

Key questions include how controls in processing plants, owned by some of the biggest companies in the global meat business, could be so lax that what has been reported could happen.

EU veterinary officials will again carry out checks in Brazil, which is the biggest supplier of imported beef to the EU, mainly for processed food. EU farm commissioner Phil Hogan has said a robust pillar two covering rural development will be part of the new CAP after 2020.

He says rural development priorities will be centred on job creation, in line with wider European Commission plans for a greater focus on economic growth.

The aims for rural development were agreed last September at a major EU conference, which produced a policy document known as the Cork declaration.

The challenge remains funding, not least because the departure of the UK from the EU will leave a big hole in the budget for agriculture.

This raises the issue of what will happen with rural development funding after Brexit.

There has been no commitment for it to continue, although ministers have talked about a support structure that rewards farmers for delivering “public goods”. African swine fever has continued to spread in Poland and the Baltic states.

This is a disease with significant trade implications, not only for the countries affected but for the EU, since it can trigger blanket trade bans because of the risks it poses.

This comes as EU pork exports are performing strongly.

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), what is now happening in these countries could be deemed a “small-scale epidemic”.

The problem is in wild boar, which carry the disease and which cannot be effectively controlled.

Picture: AP. A municipal sanitary surveillance worker inspects meat at a supermarket in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.