BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Mar 22 2017 – Barbados has banned the importation of corned beef and other meat products from Brazil, following in the footsteps of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) Tuesday evening quoted Senior Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Trotman as saying concerns about the possibility of adulterated corned beef from Brazil entering Barbados had led to the temporary ban, while advising retailers to withdraw all Brazilian meat products from their shelves.
He also warned consumers not to purchase corned beef or other canned meats manufactured in Brazil until the completion of investigations to determine whether the contaminated product had come into the island.
“As part of our investigations, samples of product are being collected and will be analyzed by the Veterinary Services Laboratory and the Government Analytical Services Laboratory,” the BGIS quoted Dr Trotman as saying.
The Jamaican ministry of industry, commerce, agriculture and fisheries yesterday announced a ban on the canned product from the South American country amid fears of rotten meat being used in its processing.
The step was taken following reports from Brazilian authorities that several major meat processors there had been “selling rotten beef and poultry”.
Trinidad and Tobago has since joined Jamaica in imposing an immediate ban on the importation and sale of corned beef from Brazil, and so have China and the European Union.
Brazilian police last week named the food conglomerate BRF – the world’s largest meat producer – and JBS – the world’s largest food processing company by sales and the biggest poultry exporter – along with smaller companies in a two-year corruption probe.
According to Reuters news agency the police alleged that the companies had paid inspectors and politicians to overlook the processing of rotten meat and exports with fraudulent documentation and even traces of salmonella.
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