European supermarkets boycott Brazilian beef after reporting ‘cattle washing’

Five European supermarket chains and one food manufacturer announced on December 15th that they will no longer sell beef originating in Brazil or meat products linked to the Brazilian company JBS, due to recent allegations of destruction of the Amazon Forest.

The six networks are the Dutch group Ahold Delhaize (which includes the brands Delhaize and Albert Heijn), the Dutch group Lidl Netherlands (which belongs to the German group Lidl), Carrefour Belgium (a subsidiary of the French group of the same name), the French supermarket chain Auchan, and the British Sainsbury’s and Princes Group.

The commitments made vary from one company to another. Lidl has pledged not to sell meat originating in South America from 2022 onwards. Albert Heijn, the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, announced that it will stop selling Brazilian meat. Delhaize and Carrefour Belgium will no longer sell salt jerky snacks and other products under the Jack Link brand, associated with JBS.

Albert Heijn clarified that it has on its shelves only a few snacks made with Brazilian meat. Sainsbury’s said it intends to eliminate the country’s beef from its own corned-beef brand, but added that 90% of the product already comes from the UK and Ireland.

‘Cattle washing’

The boycotts were announced after an investigation by the NGOs Repórter Brasil and Mighty Earth who are accusing JBS of acquiring cattle raised in deforested areas through a scheme known as “cattle washing”.

In this scheme, cattle raised in deforested areas are transferred to a regularized farm and then sold for slaughter. In this way, the cattle’s origin is masked.

JBS promises zero tolerance

JBS declared to the Reuters news agency that it maintains zero tolerance for illegal deforestation and that it has blocked more than 14,000 suppliers for not complying with its regulations. The company added that monitoring indirect suppliers (which supply the final supplier) is a challenge for the entire sector, but that it intends to create a system for this by 2025.

Source: G1

To read the full original article, access the link: https://g1.globo.com/economia/agronegocios/noticia/2021/12/16/supermercados-europeus-boicotam-carne-brasileira.ghtml

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