Farming unions demand UK ban on Brazilian meat over public health concerns

Four of the UK’s farming unions are demanding an urgent halt to Brazilian meat imports into Great Britain, warning that the country could become a destination for products displaced from European markets when new antimicrobial rules take effect next week.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), NFU, NFU Scotland and NFU Cymru have jointly called on the UK Government to prohibit affected Brazilian products of animal origin from 3 September, bringing Great Britain into line with new EU restrictions.

The unions have raised concerns about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), consumer confidence and the impact on domestic farmers who are required to meet UK standards on antibiotic use.

However, the EU action does not mean Brazilian meat has been found unsafe to eat. The issue centres on whether Brazil has provided sufficient guarantees that products exported to Europe comply with new rules governing the use of certain antimicrobials in food-producing animals.

Great Britain is carrying out its own assessment and, as things stand, Brazilian products that meet existing British import conditions will continue to be eligible for entry after 3 September.

Why action is being taken

From 3 September, new EU requirements will apply to imports of certain animals and animal products intended for human consumption.

The rules are designed to ensure imports comply with restrictions on the use of particular antimicrobial medicines, including prohibitions relating to antimicrobials used to promote growth or increase yield and certain antimicrobials reserved for treating infections in humans.

Brazil has not been included on the EU’s updated authorised list for a number of affected products after failing to provide the guarantees required under the new regime.

The regulations take effect from 3 September.

The UK farming unions argue that Great Britain should now take equivalent precautionary action rather than continuing imports while its own assessment is carried out.

Public health concerns at centre of unions’ warning

In a joint letter to Defra Secretary of State Dame Angela Eagle, the four organisations warned that continuing to accept Brazilian products without equivalent assurances could undermine efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and stop responding to medicines, making infections harder to treat.

The unions argue that UK farmers have made substantial progress in reducing antibiotic use and should not face competition from imported products unless equivalent standards can be demonstrated.

The use of antibiotics for growth promotion has been prohibited in the UK and EU since 2006.

According to the unions, UK farming has voluntarily reduced its use of antibiotics by almost 60% since 2014, while the use of antibiotics considered critically important for human health has fallen by 83%.

The four farming union presidents said:

“Ensuring the health and safety of the nation is a core responsibility of any government and the UK has long recognised the risks posed by AMR. 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.

“Failure to act will not only expose the nation to a public health risk, but damage consumer confidence in beef and poultry as a whole. Combined with the additional complications it would cause trading with our farming colleagues in Northern Ireland and the very real threat of Brazilian meat being diverted onto the GB market, it would only pile further pressure on producers here at home.”

Great Britain taking a different approach

Despite the EU decision, there is currently no equivalent prohibition planned for Great Britain from 3 September.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has said GB is undertaking its own evidence-based assessment of Brazil’s antimicrobial assurance arrangements independently of the EU timetable.

Existing import requirements will therefore remain in place while that work continues, meaning Brazilian products can still enter Great Britain provided consignments satisfy existing import conditions and controls.

Defra already requires countries exporting food-producing animals and animal products to Great Britain to submit annual residue control plans.

These monitor pharmacologically active substances, including antimicrobials used for growth promotion. The Government has said safeguard measures, including additional testing or import bans, can be imposed when non-compliance is identified.

Brazilian beef and poultry imports are also subject to risk-based border checks, with intensified official controls available where non-compliant consignments are discovered.

The disagreement therefore centres on whether those existing safeguards are sufficient while the UK carries out its assessment, or whether imports should be stopped as a precaution until Brazil can demonstrate compliance with comparable antimicrobial standards.

Concern Brazilian meat could be diverted to GB

Farm leaders are also warning of an economic consequence for British producers.

If Brazilian products lose access to EU markets from September but retain access to Great Britain, the unions fear some of that meat could instead be directed towards the British market.

The concern comes as Brazilian beef imports into the UK have already been rising.

Figures reported by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) show UK beef imports from Brazil increased by 33% to around 15,000 tonnes during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year.

Fresh and frozen beef imports increased particularly strongly, while processed products continued to account for more than half of Brazilian beef imports.

The unions argue that additional volumes entering Great Britain could place further pressure on domestic producers while creating an uneven playing field if imported food has not been produced to equivalent standards.

Consumers may not know meat’s origin

Another concern raised by the farming organisations relates to where Brazilian meat is ultimately consumed.

They say much of it enters the food service sector, where consumers eating in restaurants, cafés and other establishments may not have the same country-of-origin information they would see when buying labelled meat in a supermarket.

The unions fear that uncertainty over production standards could damage confidence not simply in imported meat, but in beef and poultry more widely.

They said:

“The absence of any government response is unacceptable, particularly when there is a direct risk to public health and credible reports of significant disruption across the GB supply chain.

“We have less than a week until the bans in the EU and EEA countries come into force. The UK government must take action now to protect the British public from the health risks posed by antimicrobial resistance, maintain public trust in our food system, and show our farmers it backs homegrown food production.”

What the farming unions want

The UFU, NFU, NFU Scotland and NFU Cymru are asking the Government to prohibit affected Brazilian products of animal origin from 3 September until Brazil can demonstrate that meat exported to Great Britain is being produced responsibly and to the required standards.

They also want the Government to carry out an in-person audit of Brazilian production and traceability systems.

The unions are calling for increased checks on Brazilian animal products entering the UK, including randomised and risk-based sampling to identify prohibited residues.

They also want a wider UK framework of core production standards applying equally to domestically produced and imported agri-food products.

Their argument is that British and Northern Irish farmers should not be undercut by imported food produced using methods that would be illegal for farmers at home, including antimicrobials for growth promotion.

With the new EU regime taking effect on Thursday, the Government now faces calls to decide whether Great Britain should follow the European approach immediately or continue accepting Brazilian imports under existing controls while its independent assessment is completed.

For consumers, the distinction is important: there has been no finding that Brazilian meat currently on sale in the UK is inherently unsafe. The dispute is instead about the assurances required over how animals are produced, the long-term public health challenge posed by antimicrobial resistance, and whether imported food should have to meet standards equivalent to those demanded of farmers at home.