PARIS, Sept 1 (Reuters) – The European Union will suspend meat imports from Brazil from September 3 after the South American country failed to guarantee its compliance with EU rules on the use of antimicrobial substances, an EU Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday.
• The EU had announced in May that Brazil was set to be removed from a list of compliant countries exporting certain animal products to the bloc.
• The Commission spokesperson told reporters that the EU had not received guarantees of Brazil’s compliance with the bloc’s requirement that antimicrobials not be used for animal growth.
• For poultry and honey, an audit of Brazilian production is due to be completed at the end of this week, though results will not be available immediately, the spokesperson said.
• For beef, of which Brazil was the EU’s second-largest supplier in 2025, the EU was seeking guarantees covering the whole life cycle of animals, the spokesperson added.
• The Commission did not give a timeline for a possible lifting of the ban.
• The EU also prohibits giving animals antimicrobials that are used to treat humans, including antibiotics.
• Overuse of antibiotics in animals can create resistant bacteria that spread to people through food, contact or the environment, making some human infections harder to treat.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Bart Meijer and Sybille de La HamaideEditing by David Goodman)
