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News > Latin America

Contaminated Meat and Govt Bribes: Fresh Scandal Rocks Brazil

  • A worker arranges slaughtered cattle in the freezing room in the Marfrig Group slaughter house in Promissao, 500 km northwest of Sao Paulo, Oct. 7, 2011.

    A worker arranges slaughtered cattle in the freezing room in the Marfrig Group slaughter house in Promissao, 500 km northwest of Sao Paulo, Oct. 7, 2011. | Photo: Reuters

Published 19 March 2017
Opinion

After the scandal behind Petrobras and Odebrecht, now Brazil faces another major corruption probe.

Brazilian President Michel Temer is scheduled to meet Sunday with agricultural authorities to address the contaminated meat scandal affecting the world's largest exporter of beef and poultry.

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The president will meet the ministers of Agriculture and Foreign Trade, as well as meat producers and market owners. He will later meet with the ambassadors of the largest meat markets.

Brazilian authorities announced Friday an investigation into evidence suggesting that companies including JBS SA and BRF SA, the country's largest meat producers, bribed government officials to approve the sale and export of contaminated meat.

In the scheme, health inspectors allegedly received bribes from producers to turn a blind eye to the fact that some of the meat, including sausages and cold cuts, had been adulterated with ingredients including pig heads, with acid applied to disguise bad smells.

Authorities also discovered the use of "carcinogenic products to cover the physical appearance of the damaged product."

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The Agriculture Ministry said the scandal affects the country's reputations as meat trader. More than 30 people have been detained so far and three meatpacking facilities have been temporarily closed, while another 21 establishments are under investigation.

Brazil is the largest beef and chicken exporter with almost the fifth of global exports and sells it to about 150 countries, according to the Ministry of Development and Foreign Trade.

The list includes Egypt, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

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