US will audit Brazilian plants in May

Several Brazilian meat plants will be inspected by the United States in May in what the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (Abiec) describes as a routine technical mission. According to Abiec, the audit announced by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is part of the equivalence process between the two countries’ inspection systems. Since the US market reopened in 2017, Brazil has been audited in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2022; none of those visits were linked to punitive measures or non compliance episodes. Such audits occur roughly every two years and focus on verifying technical and laboratory procedures as required to keep trade flowing.

“The sector welcomes this new step with complete transparency and confidence, underscoring the robustness of Brazil’s inspection system and its commitment to international standards of quality and food safety,” Abiec said in a statement.