Brazil has lost access to the EU market for poultry and several other animal products under new antimicrobial rules, increasing pressure on the UK Government to introduce equivalent controls in Great Britain.
An EU restriction on Brazilian poultry, beef and other products of animal origin came into force on 3 September.
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Brazil has been removed from the list of countries authorised to supply the EU with poultry, bovine and equine products, aquaculture products, honey and casings.
The European Commission said it had not received sufficient information guaranteeing that Brazil had introduced the measures needed to comply with the EU’s new restrictions on antimicrobial use.
Those rules prohibit the use of antibiotics to promote growth or increase yield in animals supplying the EU market. They also restrict the use of antimicrobials reserved for treating serious infections in people.
Brazil will remain outside the authorised list until it supplies assurances accepted by the Commission and receives approval to resume exports.
Great Britain has not matched restrictions
The EU requirements also apply in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, but not in Great Britain.
No equivalent restriction had been introduced in GB at the time of publication, raising concerns that Brazilian poultry and beef displaced from the European market could instead be diverted to Britain.
Brazil exported about 211,000 tonnes of poultrymeat and 92,363 tonnes of beef and beef products to the EU during 2025.
The NFU, NFU Scotland, Ulster Farmers’ Union and NFU Cymru wrote jointly to Defra secretary Dame Angela Eagle ahead of the ban, calling for imports of Brazilian products of animal origin to be suspended across the UK.
The unions said UK farmers had made substantial progress in reducing antibiotic use and should not be undercut by imports produced to different standards.
“UK farmers have worked hard to cut antibiotic use and maintain some of the highest production standards in the world – we should demand the same of our imported food,” the four union presidents said.
“Failure to act will not only expose the nation to a public health risk, but damage consumer confidence in beef and poultry as a whole.”
The British poultrymeat sector has reduced total antibiotic use by 86% since 2012, while the use of critically important antibiotics has fallen by 96.8%.
The unions also raised concerns about country-of-origin information, as much of the Brazilian meat imported into Britain is destined for food service, where consumers may not know where it was produced.
They have asked the Government to:
- Suspend Brazilian animal-product imports until the country can demonstrate compliance with equivalent production standards
- Conduct an in-person audit of Brazilian production and traceability systems
- Increase randomised and risk-based testing of Brazilian imports for prohibited residues
- Establish core production standards applying equally to British and imported food
