Imports of fresh beef from Brazil are being halted into the U.S. The announcement was made by Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue after inspections by USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) revealed concerns over safety issues. "Ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply is one of our critical missions, and it’s one we undertake with great seriousness," Perdue says. Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture self-suspended the shipment of beef from five packing plants after U.S. officials found "irregularities" in the processed carcasses this past week. However, the move by Perdue and USDA will supersede the self-suspension. A statement from the Brazilian Association of Beef Industry Exports says the self-suspension happened "after the detection of [bovine] reactions to the vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease, that in some cases can provoke internal, and not externally visible abscesses." The voluntary halt by Brazil appeared to be temporary while the vaccine manufacture attempted to find a solution for the abscesses. Now it could be much longer before fresh Brazilian beef enters the U.S.
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