European Union – Measures Concerning the Importation of certain Poultry Meat Preparations from Brazil

Request for Consultations by BRAZIL

The following communication, dated 8 November 2021, from the delegation of Brazil to the delegation of the European Union, is circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body in accordance with Article 4.4 of the DSU.

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1.     My authorities have instructed me to request consultations with the European Union ("EU"), pursuant to Articles 1 and 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes ("DSU"), Article 11 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ("SPS Agreement"), and Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade 1994 ("GATT 1994"), concerning EU measures affecting the importation of certain poultry meat preparations from Brazil, in particular salted poultry meat and turkey meat with pepper.

I.  BACKGROUND

2.     This request concerns the EU’s application of Salmonella food safety criteria on fresh poultry meat and certain poultry meat preparations, and the appropriate level of sanitary protection necessary to address risks to human health from the contamination of Salmonella in products under these food categories.

3.     Salmonella is a gram-negative rods genus belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family.^[1] Within the species Salmonella bongori and Salmonella enterica, over 2,500 different serotypes have, thus far, been identified. The species Salmonella enterica features Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) and Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), the two most important serotypes of Salmonella transmitted from animals to humans in most parts of the world.^[2]

4.     In the EU, the most commonly reported Salmonella serotypes are S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium (including monophasic S. Typhimurium), representing 70.3% of confirmed human cases of salmonellosis with known serotypes.^[3]

5.     In December 2003, the EU adopted Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No. 2160/2003 on the control of Salmonella to ensure that proper and effective measures were taken to detect and control Salmonella and other zoonotic agents at all relevant stages of production, processing and distribution, in order to reduce their prevalence and the risk they pose to public health.^[4]