IN A STRONG ATTACK ON EU POLICY CONCERNING BEEF IMPORTS, INDEPENDENT MEP MARIAN HARKIN SLATED COMMISSIONERS MANDELSON AND KYPRIANOU FOR FAVOURING IMPORTS FROM BRAZIL WHICH ARE SUSPECT IN TERMS OF TRACEABILITY AND ANIMAL DISEASE STATUS.

Speaking in the European Parliament on Wednesday, June 6th, Marian Harkin said:-

“We in the EU demand full traceability from our farmers.  We expect traceability from farm to fork and each step of that journey from farm to fork is tagged, inspected and monitored.  The European consumer expects high standards and rightly so – that’s how we do our business in the EU.

“How then can Commissioner Mandelson and Commissioner Kyprianou stand over the importation of approximately 300,000 tons of Brazilian beef each year when there are Foot & Mouth disease outbreaks on a continuing basis, when controls on cattle movement are at best lax and in many cases non existent and where there is widespread illegal removal and cutting out of tags and the use of hormone growth promoters?

“How can our Commissioners preside over such double standards and place the European consumer and livestock sector in a situation where they are exposed to unacceptable and indeed unnecessary risks when countries like the US refuse to accept Brazilian beef because it is not up to the required standard?”, Marian Harkin concluded.