Govt authorises sale of seized chickens, keeps ban on imports – Mozambique

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Govt authorises sale of seized chickens, keeps ban on imports – Mozambique

6:00 CAT | 05 May 2017

The Mozambican government on Friday authorised the sale of the imported chickens that had been seized in late March.

The chickens had been seized following the Brazilian federal police operation codenamed “Carne Fraca” (“Rotten Meat”) aimed at fighting corruption and crimes against public health in the Brazilian meat trade.

The Brazilian police uncovered a scandal whereby certain meat companies used food additives (such as ascorbic acid or sodium nitrate) to disguise the fact that their meat was going rotten, or had passed its expiry date. These food additives are authorised for use in many countries, including Mozambique, and, when used correctly, present no threat to the health of consumers. But in Brazil the additives were being used to disguise the true state of the meat, and make it appear fresh and thus fit for human consumption.

The government decided to suspend temporarily the import of all meat from Brazil, and all chickens from anywhere. Officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade explained this is because Brazilian chickens are sent all over the world, and are often re-packaged and re-exported. Thus chickens labelled as from South Africa or from European countries could, in reality, be Brazilian chickens.

Much later than originally expected, the laboratory tests on the chickens seized in March have been completed, and show that they pose no threat to public health. The chickens, which have been held in sealed bags in freezers since late March, will now be handed back to their owners, who have the green light to sell them.

“The actions indicated have been carried out, and since the great majority of the laboratory results are negative the government authorizes the retailers and the importers to sell the stocks that are in their possession as from today”, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Nelson Jeque, told a Maputo press conference.

According to Rita Freitas, the general inspector of the National Inspectorate of Economic Activities, the quantity of chicken and chicken parts seized, and now released amounted to 1,700 tonnes.

Restrictions remain

But the restrictions on imported chickens remain in place, not for health reasons, but because a quota on imports is being enforced in order to protect the domestic poultry industry.

There are an additional 250 tonnes of chicken being held by the Mozambican Tax Authority (AT) in the country’s ports. Their fate depends on whether these imports were in line with the chicken quota issued in October 2016 to deal with demand in the festive season.

“This merchandise refers to 2016 and should have been imported by 31 December”, said Jeque. “Normally, if imports are made outside the quota and without authorisation, the AT destroys these imports”.

The 2016 chicken deficit was estimated at 5,000 tonnes, and so the government authorised an import quota of 5,000 tonnes, but these chickens should all have been imported before the end of the year.

Source: AIM