SA meat processors body urges swift action to lift Brazil poultry ban as job losses mount
Sampa member Sky Country Meats has already laid off nearly 100 workers.
'With more retrenchments to follow next week if imports of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) are not restored as a matter of absolute urgency,' it said.
MDM is used in the manufacture of polony, viennas, russians, braai wors, bangers, frozen burgers, meat pies and corned meat.
South Africa does not produce MDM in any significant quantity and is forced to import the commodity. Brazil is the largest producer of MDM in the world, with 95% of MDM imported in the past 12 years coming from the South American powerhouse.
'Sampa has been engaging the agriculture department for more than two years about the threat posed by HPAI and we call on the government to have a more proactive policy framework in place to better deal with future outbreaks.'
Sampa reiterated its readiness to partner with government and other stakeholders to design and implement a framework which will better insulate South Africa's food value chain and protect jobs.
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Mechanically deboned meat is essential in the production of affordable processed meat products such as polony, viennas, russians, and tinned corned beef, which are staples for many South African households. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Domestic production of MDM is minimal, making the country heavily reliant on imports, primarily from Brazil. 'South Africa imports about 19,000 tons per month,' Nicoll said. 'We used to source MDM globally, but the avian influenza outbreak in Europe closed those markets. Brazil was the last open source. 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