The JBS unit in Mozarlândia, Goiás, received two rejections from the Federal Inspection Service following a European audit that identified persistent shortcomings in its sanitary system. Despite the irregularities, the plant remains authorised to export.
The meatpacking plant had its quality plans rejected by the Federal Inspection Service (SIF) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock after a European Union mission identified failures in the unit’s sanitary system during a visit in May. The rejection was formalised on July 1 and reiterated on July 20.
The problems identified included failures to maintain the official inspection stamp after certain processing stages, deficiencies in pest control, irregularities in the disposal of animal parts and problems in offal processing. Inspectors also pointed to shortcomings in the plant’s overall quality management.
The SIF questioned whether the action plans submitted by the company addressed the root causes of the problems, which it said explained the recurrence of the irregularities. In the July 20 reassessment, the agency said that most of the failures remained unresolved and criticised the repeated use of staff training as the main corrective measure.
JBS said in a statement that it complies with the sanitary protocols required by the markets in which it operates and described the findings as isolated issues arising from routine inspections, with no risk to product safety or quality.
The Mozarlândia unit, one of the company’s main beef export plants, with slaughter of around 2,000 cattle per day, remains authorised to export despite the rejections.
Source: Pecuária/Folhapress
