Development: On 5 March, the former CEO of local meat processing company BRF, Pedro de Andrade Faria, was jailed along with nine others is the latest phase of ‘Operation Weak Flesh’.
Significance: The third phase of ‘Operation Weak Flesh’- first launched in 2017- focuses on how BRF used fraudulent methods to cheat meat quality controls laid down by the ministry of agriculture. This could negatively impact on Brazil’s meat exports, which were worth US$15.47bn last year according to official figures.
- A series of emails shows BRF used ways to flout local food health and safety regulations as “part of their business model”, said federal police delegate Maurício Moscardi Grillo.
- Federal police found three separate instances where BRF had cheated salmonella tests - at three separate chicken-production units. Two of the units under investigation are located in the central state of Goiás and the other in the southern state of Paraná.
- The salmonella found in those chicken products is not harmful and does not pose a risk to human health, according to Alexandre Campos da Silva, the co-ordinator for the department and inspection of animal products (Dipoa) at the agriculture ministry. “There is no indication that either of the two harmful strains [of salmonella] were found in the units under investigation. But we are still carrying out more tests,” he said.
- However, the salmonella scandal could negatively impact Brazilian meat exports to 12 different markets which have stricter rules to prevent salmonella poisoning, including China, South Africa, and the European Union (EU), among others.
- In a statement issued yesterday, BRF said that it has complied with Brazilian and international guidelines to sell its products. The company is still “cooperating with the authorities, maintaining total transparency in interactions with clients, consumers, shareholders and the market in general”.
Looking Ahead: In a statement, Brazil’s agriculture minister Blairo Maggi attempted to allay concerns. He said he was working with the police and the federal prosecutor’s office (MPF) to investigate the potential fraud. However, the return of ‘Operation Weak Flesh’ contradicts the government line that last year’s scandal was just a temporarily blip, suggesting there may be more repercussions.
