Plaid MEP Jill Evans has welcomed the renewed progress in the campaign to ban exports of Brazilian beef to the European Union over safety fears.

Ms Evans is supported by Welsh farming unions and is working with other MEPs from elsewhere in Europe who share her concerns about animal health and hygiene standards in Brazilian livestock farming.

This week the European Commission told MEPs that it would impose new restrictions on Brazilian beef imports to Europe, which will have the effect of restricting the right to export beef to Europe to around only 300 farms of the 10,000 in the country.

Speaking today, Jill Evans commented:

"We share the concerns of the farming unions over the quality and safety of beef being imported to Europe from Brazil. Allowing this to continue is unwise and only undermines our own livestock industry and consumer confidence.

"I'm pleased that the European Commission is at last taking action. We have no quarrel with the Brazilian people, this is purely a question of applying a minimum common set of animal health and hygiene standards before granting access to the European market. There is compelling evidence to show such standards are not being met.

"These new restrictions which come into force at the beginning of February should help, but I remain convinced that the only effective measure in the current circumstances would be a total ban until the issues around hygiene standards have been resolved."

Note - from 31 January new restrictions will mean that only beef from farms specifically audited by Brazilian authorities as meeting EU standards will be eligible for import to the EU, follow up checks will then be carried out by European authorities.