Paraguay prepares its reply on meat packing plants after audit by U.S. officials

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Of the 4 recommendations issued by the U.S. technicians who inspected meat packing plants and laboratories in Paraguay, the government complied with 3 points and is working jointly with the industry to complete the last one.

For both sectors the audit was successful and everything points to the opening of the U.S. market to Paraguayan meat. To this end, the country must first comply with the recommendations made by the experts who worked on the inspections between November 1 and 17.

National Service of Quality and Animal Health (SENACSA) chairman José Carlos Martin said that 3 points related to pending resolutions and equipment calibration issues by the National Institute of Technology, Standardization and Metrology have been corrected, while work is underway on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point systems of meat packing plants, which will not hinder the qualification process, Martin said.

“We are very pleased, very rarely are we audited, mainly at a high level such as the United States. We believe that the flag of Paraguay is very well positioned, and the service has great credibility, always betting on transparency in our process to guarantee food safety,” the head of the veterinary service stated about the process that began 3 years ago.

The news was conveyed yesterday afternoon to president Mario Abdo Benítez.

SENACSA now has 60 days to reply on the recommendations, and the United States has the same deadline to return. For the industry, the audit was successful.

Paraguayan Meat Chamber manager Daniel Burt said that the observations are related to administrative issues and therefore there is confidence in the approval.