By: Mostafa Adel

Cairo – Mubasher: The Ministry of Agriculture decided to postpone importing Brazilian meat until it confirms the products’ validity for human consumption, the ministry’s official spokesperson Hamed Abdel Dayem said.

Meats imports will not be halted permanently, but will be postponed until further notice, Abdel Dayem added in a phone call with Mubasher on Thursday.

The postponement decision does not include shipments which left Brazilian ports on their way to Egypt, but they will not be approved until they’re carefully inspected to ensure their wholesomeness, Abdel Dayem clarified.

Brazilian police recently accused more than 100 people, most of them health inspectors, of receiving bribes to allow the sale of rotten products, or to skip inspection of packing and packaging facilities and forging export documents.

A number of countries, including China, Saudi Arabia, and others, stopped importing Brazilian meat after police investigations in Brazil.

Translated by: Mohamed Hesham Azab