Hong Kong recalls suspect Brazilian meat

Hong Kong said today it will recall Brazilian meat from 21 processing plants under investigation over a rotten meat scandal.
The city, which is the biggest market for Brazilian beef, already issued a ban on all meat imports from the country earlier this week.
It comes after police in Brazil said they had uncovered a scheme to bribe corrupt health inspectors at processing plants to certify tainted meat.
China has also suspended all imports and Brazilian officials say exports have dropped from USD 63 million a day to just USD 74,000.
Hong Kong's health secretary Ko Wing-man announced a "comprehensive recall" of all "chilled, frozen and poultry meats" which had already been imported from the factories at the heart of the crisis.

"We couldn't completely eliminate hidden dangers in terms of food safety," Ko told reporters when explaining the decision. Ko said six of the affected Brazilian plants had exported meat to Hong Kong.

He hoped the move would help restore customer confidence in Brazilian meat that had not been brought in from the factories involved.
Hong Kong imported USD 718 million worth of beef in 2016, according to Brazilian government figures.
It is the second biggest importer of all Brazilian meat behind China, which has also suspended imports.
Other important markets, notably the European Union, have stopped any imports from the 21 businesses under investigation.

Japan, Brazil's third-biggest market for chicken with USD 720 million in sales, imposed a similar limited ban, while Mexico has stopped imports of chicken produced by the 21 companies under scrutiny.
Brazil's government has appealed to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 163 other members not to impose "arbitrary" bans on the country's more than USD 13 billion meat export industry.
Officials have been scrambling to contain the damage since police announced the results of the two-year investigation last week.
According to police, the health inspectors involved were bribed to certify meat no longer fit for consumption, while additives were used to mask problems in the produce.

Exports have been stopped from all 21 meat processors under investigation, and at least 30 people have been arrested.