The revelation that dangerous hormones, banned in the European Union since 1981, have been detected in Brazilian beef, now circulating in the European food chain should sound the death knell for the Mercosur Trade Deal, Aontú Senator Sarah O Reilly has said.
Her comments come as the European People’s Party group in the EU Parlianmen this morning withdrew its request for an “urgent procedure” which would have been used to push through safeguard clauses for Mercosur which the EU Commission hoped would sweeten the deal for disgruntled farmers.
Yesterday, the European Commission recalled consignments of frozen Brazilian beef products imported into the EU, after banned hormones were detected in shipments that arrived earlier this month.
A number of countries have issued recalls of the relevant meat products or removed them from shelves – with Austria, Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Slovakia impacted in asdditon to the UK.
The Irish Farmers’ Association said the recalls “raise very significant concerns around the lack of robust controls in slaughterhouses in Brazil, which has allowed hormone beef to enter the EU and be sold to European citizens”.
The farmer’s organisation added that the revelations “have to be a serious wake-up call for the bureaucrats and cheerleaders attempting to usher through a Mercosur trade deal for the benefit of big industry at the expense of European farmers and the health and wellbeing of EU citizens”.
Today, Aontú’s Sarah O’Reilly said that “Banned hormones in our food supply is devastating, and we must prioritise the safety of Irish and European consumers. These substances have been linked to hormone disruption and an increased risk of cancer.”
The Cavan Senator said : “These hormones, including substances such as zeranol, trenbolone acetate, and melengestrol acetate, are prohibited due to their links to potential cancer risks and serious health concerns. Despite this long-standing ban, routine checks in November uncovered their presence in imported beef, raising significant alarm over food safety standards and regulatory enforcement.”
“We in Aontú always warned that this could happen. We know that producers in South America are not subject to the exacting rigorous checks that Irish farmers are,” she added.
“The frozen beef from Brazil containing these banned hormones is now in the food chain across Europe. Our government has an absolute duty to fight against the implementation of Mercosur, and this absolutely reinforces that”.
The Mercosur deal aims to create one of the world’s largest free trade zones encompasing the EU member states and the Mercosur trade bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The deal allows a quota of 99,000 tonnes of Mercosur beef into the EU annually at a reduced tariff of 7.5%, and has led to strong opposition from European farming organisations who fear the impact of increased beef imports, and point to the differences in regulatory standards in the relative jurisdictions.