Published: 11:19 BST, 1 September 2026 | Updated: 11:35 BST, 1 September 2026
British campaigners have urged ministers to ban Brazilian meat from entering the UK, after traces of sex hormones and deadly salmonella were found in the country's beef and chicken.
Meat from the South American nation could be a 'risk to public health', according to four UK farming unions – as meat produced there is not subject to the strict safety regulations it is in Europe.
In May, food safety regulators found that 80 per cent of a batch of frozen chicken imported to Greece from Brazil contained traces of salmonella – a potentially deadly bacteria that's currently rising in the UK.
Meanwhile, Brazilian carcasses from animals given the hormone oestrogen – banned by both the EU and the UK – were recently found to be mixed into shipments of beef imported to Europe, according to reports in Food Safety News.
The nation has also failed to guarantee compliance with the EU's strict limits on using antibiotics to rear animals for food – which is crucial for fighting the deadly and growing crisis of antibiotic resistance.
The more antibiotics we're exposed to, the higher the risk the potentially deadly bugs can adapt to survive the drugs designed to kill them, making vital medications less effective.
From Thursday, imports of Brazilian meat will be banned across the European Union – and UK experts say Britain must follow suit.
The National Farmers Union (NFU), NFU Scotland, Ulster Farmers’ Union and NFU Cymru have today issued a letter to Angela Eagle, Defra Secretary of State, calling for a UK-wide ban.
The UK spend on Brazilian chickens has risen by at leas £2billion since 2021
Imports to the UK from Brazil have risen strongly since Brexit, with the annual spend rising from £3billion in 2021, to £5billion last year.
In 2024, poultry imports from the nation accounted for around 13 per cent of total chicken imports to the UK, according to a report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.
British consumers may be unknowingly eating Brazilian meat, as the majority of imports are directed to the UK's food service sector – including restaurants, schools and hospitals – where origin labelling is not required, Food Safety News reported.
'Failure to act will only expose the nation to a public health risk, but damage consumer confidence in beef and poultry' the presidents of the four unions said in a joint statement.
'UK farmers have worked hard to cut antibiotic use and maintain some of the highest production standards in the world – we should demand the same of our imported food.'
