Brazil meat industry faces regulatory challenges over veterinary drug misuse

The misuse of veterinary drugs, including exceeding dosage limits and ignoring withdrawal periods, is causing economic and reputational damage to Brazil. Currently, institutional responses often penalize meat processing plants when residues are detected in meat lots, leading to sanctions, suspensions, and blocked batches.

However, meat processors argue they cannot control practices on rural properties, as they only receive, slaughter, and process animals according to sanitary standards. The argument suggests that the responsibility should lie with the producers who misapply medications. Failure to penalize the actual source of the irregularity may perpetuate a cycle of non-compliance, potentially leading to international trade embargos, product recalls, and a loss of confidence in global markets.