Despite regional conglomerate GraceKennedy saying yesterday that its Brazilian corned beef suppliers are not under investigation, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V. Alfred Gray said the precautionary ban issued by the Bahamian government on meat products from Brazil still stands until more information is directly acquired from the Brazilian government on the matter.
Speaking with Guardian Business yesterday, Gray asked for all local suppliers of corned beef and other beef products to remain "patient", keeping in mind that some suppliers have a large amount of relative stock waiting to be cleared at the docks.
"We will only act, I believe, on a matter of government-to-government, not producers and not suppliers," he said.
"We will have to get whatever the Brazilian government's issue is on the matter, because this is a country brand.
"We are seeking to get to the bottom of the matter, and as soon as we are satisfied that the ban should be lifted, then it will be."
Jamaica-based GraceKennedy, which produces a popular corned beef brand, confirmed in a statement that the plants that supply it with corned beef are not under investigation by the Brazilian authorities.
"We have been working non-stop over the past 48 hours to get answers in
relation to this issue and can confidently state that the factories which supply corned beef to GraceKennedy Ltd. are not a part of the current investigation by the Brazilian authorities," the statement read.
"We have reviewed the information provided by Brazil's Secretariat of Animal and Plant Health (SDA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA) and are satisfied that corned beef is not among the items under scrutiny. Further, none of the meat plants listed by the Brazilian authorities supply corned beef to GraceKennedy Ltd.
"The health and safety of consumers remain of primary importance to us. We have always and will continue to ensure that suppliers conform to internationally recognized food safety standards, including the British Retail Consortium Standard (BRC). The BRC is used by leading manufacturers across the world and sets out stringent requirements as it relates to manufacturing, food safety and quality control systems. Our corned beef suppliers in Brazil have consistently qualified for and retained the BRC standard.
"We will continue to comply with the Jamaican government's temporary ban but also urge that, in light of the information now available, they apply the necessary resources to satisfy any concerns they might still have about corned beef imports as soon as possible."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian