Suspected falsified health certificates from Brazil

Hong Kong: The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) has found several suspected falsified health certificates for imported frozen meat from Brazil.

Impacted products include chicken feet and livestock offal for pet consumption.

A CFS spokesman said: "The CFS received a complaint lodged by a food importer about a suspicious health certificate accompanying a consignment of frozen chicken feet from Brazil which was imported earlier this year. ​

"The Brazilian authorities have recently confirmed that the health certificate concerned was falsified and the related consignment of frozen chicken feet was pet food. The CFS has reported the case to the Hong Kong Police."​

The CFS found that in the past year 10 consignments had been exported from Brazil to Hong Kong by the exporter on the health certificate.

All health certificates were issued on or before 21 March - the day CFS banned the import of Brazilian frozen and chilled meat and poultry into the country.

Six consignments of frozen chicken feet and two of livestock offal products were re-exported to the mainland and Vietnam.

The CFS has suspended the import of products by the exporter, LAMAJO COMERCIAL Ltda, and two Brazilian production plants, SIF2421 and SIF2498, as listed in the health certificates.

Since March this year, 562 samples (including frozen chicken feet and livestock offals) were taken at import and retail level for testing and results showed all were satisfactory.