UK farm unions demand tougher Brazilian meat safeguards

The UK should suspend Brazilian beef and poultry imports unless exporters can prove compliance with antibiotic safeguards, the NFU has said.

The union is urging the government to follow the European Union’s precautionary approach to imports of Brazilian products of animal origin.

EU authorities have asked Brazil to demonstrate that affected exports do not come from animals treated with antimicrobials reserved for human medicine.

They are also seeking assurances that antibiotics have not been used to promote growth or increase yields.

Brazil has until 3 September 2026 to provide the requested evidence or risk losing authorisation to export affected products to the EU.

The NFU said Brazil had not yet demonstrated compliance with the requirements. No restriction under this particular process has taken effect at this stage.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “A key responsibility of government is to ensure that products entering the UK are safe and do not pose a human health risk.”

“Unless there is full confidence that Brazilian meat has been produced responsibly, the government should take the same precautionary approach as the EU and ban the import of Brazilian products.”

The NFU warned that failing to act could weaken public confidence in the food supply and undermine efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

The use of antibiotics for growth promotion has been banned in the UK and EU since 2006.

According to the union, antibiotic use on UK farms has fallen by 60% since 2014, while the use of medicines considered critically important for human health has decreased by 83%.

The NFU said imports produced without equivalent safeguards could damage the reputation of British beef and poultry.

It is also calling for more frequent testing of animal products arriving from countries considered to present a higher risk.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, the UK tested 94 samples of Brazilian products of animal origin for veterinary medicine residues, according to figures cited by the NFU.

The country imported 114,442 tonnes of Brazilian animal products during the same period.

“It should also increase the frequency of testing for products entering the UK from high and medium risk countries such as Brazil,” Mr Bradshaw said.

The NFU’s intervention follows a similar warning from the Ulster Farmers’ Union, which has urged ministers to prevent Britain and Northern Ireland becoming alternative destinations for products unable to enter parts of the EU market.

The UFU’s earlier intervention referred specifically to an announced September restriction affecting certain Brazilian beef products and raised concerns about traceability, antimicrobial controls and production methods.

That warning is not identical in scope to the NFU’s broader call concerning Brazilian products of animal origin.

The UFU said it had raised its concerns with Northern Ireland MPs and Defra minister Stephen Morgan.

It warned that redirected beef and poultry could increase competition in the domestic market and place further pressure on farmgate prices.

The NFU has raised a similar trade concern if EU restrictions take effect without equivalent action from the UK.

Brazil supplied 211,000 tonnes of chicken to the EU in 2025, making it the bloc’s largest overseas supplier.

EU countries also imported 92,363 tonnes of Brazilian beef that year, including 24,381 tonnes of fresh beef.

The UK imported 25,093 tonnes of beef and 28,712 tonnes of poultry meat from Brazil during 2025, according to NFU figures.

“There is also a real risk that Brazilian beef and poultry originally destined for the EU could be diverted to the UK market, distorting trade and putting additional pressure on domestic producers,” Mr Bradshaw said.

The NFU is also pressing for clearer country-of-origin information, particularly for meat served in restaurants, takeaways and other food-service businesses.

It said transparent labelling would help protect confidence in British meat and allow consumers to make informed choices.

Questions remain about how any future EU restrictions would apply in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.