São Paulo – Brazilian animal protein company BRF said this Monday (17) it will source product from other plants, after the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) temporarily suspended export authorizations for two of the company’s plants, including Dois Vizinhos, which exported some 6,000 tonnes of product a month to Saudi Arabia.
The news was broken by ANBA on Sunday (16) quoting an SFDA press release. This Monday, BRF put out a press release of its own, notifying the media and financial markets that it had become aware of the suspension on Sunday. Apart from Dois Vizinhos, the unit in Francisco Beltrão also got suspended, but BRF said this facility did not ship product to Saudi Arabia. Both plants are in the state of Paraná.
The SFDA said the suspension is temporary, and that it has requested further details from Brazilian authorities and other parties regarding investigations lasting from 2014 to 2018 on alleged breaches in BRF’s production of animal feed and premix – a preparation containing vitamins and amino acids.
The food company said it has cooperated fully and continually with Brazilian and international authorities throughout the probe. “BRF does not tolerate any misconduct when it comes to quality and integrity in its manufacturing process. Therefore, it has intensified and expanded its internal control, compliance and quality systems over the last few years, to ensure strict adherence to any and all sanitary laws around the world,” it said.
BRF also said that five of its plants are still accredited to sell to Saudi Arabia, and that it’s working on resuming exports from Dois Vizinhos and Francisco Beltrão – which will cater to other markets going forward.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
