RIO DE JANEIRO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Brazil notified the European Union's Food Service Authority on Monday that it had found no traces of salmonella in exported poultry.
The statement was issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply after it was informed in early May that irregularities had been found in Brazilian poultry sent to the EU.
European envoys insisted that Brazilian refrigeration companies needed to improve product inspections and hire more inspectors. However, after a thorough check, the Brazilian ministry said that no traces of the typhimurium or enteritidis, two types of harmful salmonella, had been found.
The statement mentioned new measures adopted in Brazil to improve sanitary supervision and prevent salmonella from affecting poultry exports to Europe.
These measures include hiring 300 veterinarians in the next 50 days to work alongside with federal agriculture inspectors in meatpacking plants.
The ministry also announced that Brazil will send veterinary missions to the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Germany and the Czech Republic to improve their knowledge in the second half of 2017.
The EU, a major market of Brazilian livestock products, purchased 1.8 billion U.S. dollars of meat from Brazil in 2016, said the ministry.
