Monday, March 20, 2017

JBS hit by inspection scandal

JBS is one of a number of Brazilian meat companies caught bribing meat inspectors to pass inferior products.

JBS has bought its way into being one of the biggest meat packers in the United States and entered the Canadian market by buying XL Foods of Alberta after it had to make the biggest beef recall in Canadian history because of E. coli 0157:H7 food-poisoning bacteria.

The Brazilian federal government has temporarily closed three meat processing plants and removed 33 public employees from their jobs on Friday evening, after the federal police launched an investigation Friday morning to dismantle a bribery scheme involving sanitary licenses for adulterated products.

Brazil's president Michel Temer held a meeting with diplomats from Brazil's meat importers Sunday to reassure them about the quality of the country's products and sanitary procedures.

Brazilian processors JBS and BRF’s poultry plants are among food companies being investigated.

“The (BRF) plant is capable of exporting to the most demanding markets in the world, such as Canada, the European Union, Russia and Japan,” the company said in a news release.

“This means that it follows the different standards stipulated by these countries,” the company said.

The government decided to establish a special audit procedure for 21 meat processing units cited in the investigation, according to a written press statement sent out Sunday night.