The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) said in a statement on Tuesday that it has decided to ban with immediate effect the importation of all frozen and chilled meat products from Brazil.
The decision came in the wake of Brazil’s “rotten meat” scandal in which about 30 people have been arrested. According to Brazilian police investigations, major meatpackers in the country were found to have been selling tainted meat products at home and abroad for years. The meatpackers allegedly bribed food hygiene inspectors in Brazil to overlook their unsavoury practices, such as selling tainted meat products. The scandal erupted late last week when the Brazilian police announced their shocking findings.
Hong Kong also banned imports of all frozen and chilled meat and poultry from Brazil on Tuesday. The action followed the central government’s decision on Monday to suspended red meat imports from the South American country.
The statement said the bureau would brief local importers on the matter. The bureau also said it would contact the Brazilian authorities for the latest updates on the situation.
IACM President Jose Fonseca Tavares had told reporters earlier on Tuesday his bureau had not found any of the suspect meat products from the implicated Brazilian suppliers in the local market. Tavares said that frozen meat from Brazil accounted for more than 40 percent in the frozen meat market in the city.
(Macau News/ The Macau Post Daily)
