Brussele, Sept. 7, 2026 (Lusa) - The European Commission announced on Monday that it will publish the results of the audit into poultry and honey production in Brazil, noting that, as far as cattle are concerned, the situation is much more complex.
«At the moment, beef is out of the question because we require guarantees covering the animal's entire lifetime, which means that animals cannot be given antimicrobials throughout their lives — which is, of course, shorter for poultry, for example, than for cattle,» said the EU executive's spokesperson for health today.
The audit «which was completed last week in Brazil by our experts concerned only honey and poultry,» clarified Eva Hrncirova.
Asked about the publication of the findings of the audit – which was carried out on the ground to assess whether Brazilian authorities and producers are able to control and certify the use of antimicrobials in the poultry and beekeeping sectors – the spokesperson said more time was needed.
«We need more time. Let the experts get on with their work, because they now need to draw up and finalise the audit report,» she said at the daily press conference.
As regards next steps, should the audit prove positive, «we may propose an amendment to the list of antimicrobials for countries authorised to export to the EU that are compatible with our rules. However, this would be subject to approval by the member states".
Brussels has suspended imports of animal products from Brazil due to breaches of the rules on the use of antibiotics in livestock farming, banning the use of antimicrobials for boosting animal growth and restricting the administration of certain critical antibiotics reserved for human medicine.
In order to export to the EU, third countries must prove that they meet the requirements; the ‘lifetime guarantee' stipulates that exporting countries must ensure that animals have not been given certain antimicrobials at any point during their lives.
The spokesperson, emphasising that the EU is currently focused on poultry meat and honey, said there were no guarantees of compliance regarding beef from Brazil.
«We are working very closely with the Brazilian side; we are in contact with the authorities,» she said.
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