Amid Tainted Beef Scandal, Tester Renews Call for Brazilian Beef Ban

Senator Turns up the Heat on USDA to Protect Montana Producers, Consumers, and Barbeques

(U.S. Senate) – Following the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s removal of five Brazilian meat packing plants from its approved exporter list due to safety concerns, U.S. Senator Jon Tester is once again calling on Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to ban imports of Brazilian meat until safety concerns can be adequately addressed.

“Our ranchers raise the best beef and pork products in the world,” Tester wrote. “They adhere to extremely high safety standards and make extraordinary efforts to provide consumers with desirable and safe products. I believe it is unwise to risk the public’s trust in domestic meat products by potentially allowing harmful imports to make it into our marketplace.”

The Brazilian beef market was rocked by scandal in March as news reports confirmed that Brazilian meat packers were using a cancer-causing acid in their meat. This led to several nations temporarily halting the importation of Brazilian meat.

As a result, Tester immediately introduced a bill to ban Brazilian beef for 120 days until safety concerns could be addressed.

Just last week, Tester questioned Secretary Perdue about the Department’s plan to inspect Brazilian beef.

In 2015, Tester successfully blocked the importation of Brazilian beef from regions where foot-and-mouth disease was prevalent.

Tester’s full letter to Secretary Perdue can be found HERE.