Group Calls for Investigation of Brazilian Beef

Food & Water Watch, a Washington, DC-based consumer group, yesterday called on the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate imported beef products from Brazil that could be adulterated with residues of the veterinary drug Ivermectin. In a letter to the Inspector General, the group detailed the discovery of residue contamination problems in processed beef products from Brazil, problems which caused the USDA suspend processed beef imports from Brazil entirely. According to Food & Water Watch, the agency has failed to call for a recall of the products that entered the United States before the imports were halted. They believe the potentially contaminated meat made it into canned meat products, which are likely still on shelves. This specific case comes just months after an investigation by the agency's Inspector General revealed severe flaws in the agency's program in the federal food safety system meant to keep chemical or drug residues out of meat products...more