Minerva will serve China with units abroad after case of “mad cow” in Brazil

Frozen Bone-In Beef

Meat

Brazil

Published Feb 23, 2023

Tridge summary

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Minerva said on Thursday that it will continue to meet Chinese demand for beef through four slaughter units, three in Uruguay and one in Argentina, after a "self-embargo" by Brazil due to a case of “mad cow disease” in Pará. According to Minerva, this strategy will prevent its market share from being affected, since the Brazilian units that previously shipped meat to the Chinese are now suspended.

Original content

The slaughterhouse, leader in South America in the export of beef, commented that the suspension was due to the confirmation of a case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, in a 9-year-old animal, as reported by authorities the day before. Minerva's shares started the day down more than 1% and operated close to stability shortly after the opening of business. Brazil and China, the largest importer of the Brazilian product, have a business suspension protocol for cases of atypical BSE, something that has already happened in the past. Samples from the animal were sent to a reference laboratory in Alberta, Canada, “which will be able to confirm whether the case is atypical”, when the disease occurs spontaneously in older animals, without presenting risks to the food chain. “It is important to point out that since 2015 the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) excludes the occurrence of cases of atypical BSE for the purpose of recognizing the country's official risk status”, said ...

Source: Mixvale