BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – HEALTH officials in St. Kitts and Nevis have lifted the ban that was imposed back in March on corned beef imported from Brazil.
The ban stemmed from reports that some meat processors had bribed health officials in the South American country to provide them with fake sanitary approvals.
When word broke, a number of governments within the region imposed unilateral bans on import corned beef and also processed meat out of that country until they could have verified they were safe for consumption.
That saw Brazilian Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica – one of the first countries to impose the ban - heavily criticizing the Government for the ban. They had indicated that the meats shipped to that country were safe for consumption and their decision on the ban was rash.
In a statement released to the media yesterday (May 4), Chief Medical Officers, Dr. Hazel Laws disclosed that the ban was lifted as a result test carried out, which “indicate that the products are safe for human consumption in accordance with the food safety laws of the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis”.
As was reported by SKNVibes, the Federal Government, through the office of the Chief Veterinarian, had conducted a number of tests on samples of corned beef, including checks for Yeast and Mold, Coliform, Listeria and Salmonella.
According to Dr. Laws, the National Agriculture, Health & Food Safety Committee, which is comprised of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Standards, Customs and Excise Department, had made several recommends for the ban to be lifted.
“1). To lift the temporary ban imposed on March 24, 2017 on imported Brazilian corned beef with immediate effect. 2) To reintroduce to the shelves all corned beef imported from and originating in Brazil.”
This would be a welcome move for many supermarkets in St. Kitts and Nevis, as all shelves were cleared of corned beef.
Ironically, Dr. Laws stated: “The National Agriculture, Health & Food Safety Committee also confirmed that the corned beef imported into the Federation did not originate from any of the meat processing plants under investigation by the Brazilian authorities. Importers are reminded that import restriction on products derived from mechanically separated beef is still in effect, as a Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) food safety measure.”
She advised that “failure to comply with this import condition will result in confiscation of the product and removal of the exporting plant as a trading partner”.
