USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has increased its testing and inspection of meat products imported from Brazil

In the wake of the ongoing Brazilian government investigation into alleged corruption and tainted meat processing, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has increased its testing and inspection of meat products imported from Brazil.“FSIS has instituted pathogen testing of all shipments of raw beef and ready-to-eat products from Brazil as well as increased the examination of all these products, a USDA spokeswoman told Meatingplace in an email. “FSIS is in contact with USDA embassy officials and Brazil's ministry about their investigation. We will continue to monitor the events as they unfold.”In a news release issued Wednesday afternoon, USDA stated, "Although none of the establishments implicated in the Brazil scandal have shipped meat products to the United States, effective March 18, FSIS instituted 100 percent point-of-entry re-inspection of all Brazilian beef imported into the United States, including conducting product examination on 100 percent of the lots. This re-inspection includes 100 percent testing of beef trimmings from Brazil for Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and non-O157 shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC). The 100 percent re-inspection also includes 100 percent testing of ready-to-eat products from Brazil for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. FSIS will take immediate action to refuse entry of product into the United States if there are findings of food safety concern."  Visual inspection is performed on each lot for appearance and condition, and checked for certification and label compliance. In addition, the Public Health Information System (PHIS) assigns various other types of inspection including product examinations and microbial and chemical laboratory analysis.The United States does not import chicken or other poultry from Brazil, according to the USDA spokeswoman.  Legislation proposedMeanwhile, U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) on Tuesday announced legislation to temporarily ban importation of Brazilian beef.Tester's bill would place a 120-day ban on Brazilian beef imports to give USDA “time to comprehensively investigate food safety threats and to determine which Brazilian beef sources put American consumers are risk.”Tester, who butchers his own beef on his farm near Big Sandy, Mont., said, "Montana producers raise the best beef in the world and are held to the highest safety standards. We cannot allow harmful food to come into our markets and endanger our families."Consumer advocacy group Food and Water Watch is calling on USDA to revoke the equivalency determination for Brazilian meat exports to the U.S.International movesBy Tuesday night, China, Chile, the European Union, Hong Kong, Japan and Mexico had temporarily suspended meat imports from Brazil, partially or completely, until further information about the investigation is released, according to official statements.Bloomberg reported Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-largest buyer of Brazil’s chicken, has ordered new inspections of meat from Brazil and that Egypt temporarily suspended permits on new imports.