EU:The European Union health commissioner has said he is prepared to ban imports of Brazilian beef if food safety standards do not improve there.
"We do identify weaknesses in Brazil and we have put pressure on Brazil to respond," Markos Kyprianou told the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee yesterday.
"If the situation does not improve in the timeframe, which is by the end of the year, we will take whatever measures necessary, including the possibility of a ban."
The commissioner's statement has brought increased pressure from MEPs and farm organisations for the imposition of a ban.
Mairead McGuinness, Ireland East MEP, accused the commission of not responding in an appropriate way to the concerns being expressed about production methods in Brazil.
"While the food and veterinary office has planned a trip to Brazil in November, we will not hear the outcome until March," she said.
Irish Farmers' Association president Padraig Walshe said a new assessment carried out for it by veterinary expert Dr Kevin Dodd, which was submitted to Mr Kyprianou yesterday, had highlighted the need for a ban.
It said the commission's assessment of the risks involved in importing beef from Brazil was flawed, and an unknown proportion of silent carriers of foot-and-mouth disease were being presented at EU approved abattoirs there.