Veterinary Services Director: Approval for Importing Chicken Meat from Brazil Canceled

The acting director of the Veterinary Services, Dr. Sergio Dolev, announced the cancellation of the approval to import chicken meat from Brazil, and the Brazilian plant JBS Ltda Aves will be removed from the list of approved plants. The decision was made against the backdrop of the European Union's announcement that from September, chicken imports from Brazil will be banned due to serious concerns that the slaughterhouses do not meet supervision and sanitation standards. Dolev reversed the decision of his predecessor, Dr. Tamir Goshen, who resigned amid disputes and a shortage of standards. The decision sparked an uproar in the poultry industry, and plant workers, represented by the Histadrut, filed a petition with the court.

The acting director of the Veterinary Services, Dr. Sergio Dolev, announced yesterday (Monday) the cancellation of the approval to import chicken meat from Brazil. Accordingly, the Brazilian plant JBS Ltda Aves will be removed from the list of plants approved to export chicken meat to Israel. The decision was made against the backdrop of the European Union's announcement that starting this coming September, chicken imports from Brazil will be completely banned within its territory, due to serious concerns that Brazilian slaughterhouses do not meet the supervision and sanitation standards common in Western countries. Dolev, who recently took office, reversed the decision of his predecessor, Dr. Tamir Goshen, who announced his resignation amid disputes, a shortage of standards and budgets, and claims of a deep crisis in the veterinary services. The original approval, granted at the request of the meat importer "Baladi," was supposed to open the chicken meat market to imports on June 16. It sparked an uproar in the Israeli poultry industry, among other things because it contradicted the policy of "what is good for Europe is good for Israel," which the government had declared. The opponents were joined by workers at poultry processing plants, represented by the Histadrut, who filed a petition with the Administrative Court. The workers claimed that there were flaws in the preliminary inspection conducted by the Israeli veterinary services before granting the import permit. In his decision, Dolev wrote that this is a "complex and sensitive field, touching on the foundations of public health and veterinary supervision of the production chain." According to him, the central demand in Israel for kosher slaughter must be taken into account. He argued that authorities in foreign countries do not possess the knowledge and experience required for individual supervision of kosher slaughter in the Israeli format. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that it was found that the import could not be approved before the production route and the ability of the Brazilian authorities to supervise it are actually examined.