In an interview with CNN this Saturday (25), Leonardo Alencar, head of Agro, Food and Beverage at XP, assessed that the Brazilian health surveillance system “works very well” with regard to disease control in ruminant animals, such as the case of mad cow identified in Pará in the last week.
According to him, the disease is caused when cattle are fed animal protein, present, for example, in meat and bone meal. “This was more common in the past, but it was banned in Brazil a long time ago. So we never had classic mad cow disease,” he said.
“Brazilian rigor has proven to be very effective in controlling diseases. We haven’t had foot-and-mouth disease for a long time, for example, and avian flu and African fever never entered here. Sometimes there is a lack of confidence in our health system, but it works very well.”
Alencar also assessed that the suspension of beef exports to China, as announced last Thursday (23), may not cause so much damage to the industry, depending on how long it lasts.
The Asian country’s ambassador, Zhu Qingqiao, has already signaled to the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, that, as soon as it is confirmed that the variety of mad cow disease detected on a farm in Pará is “atypical”, the return of Brazilian meat exports to the country will be quick, according to ministry sources.
Check out the full interview in the video above.
Source: CNN Brasil
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