U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today praised the action taken by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to halt Brazilian beef imports to the U.S.
“Food on our tables must be safe to eat,” Daines stated. “Montana families have to know that their food won’t make them sick. I’m glad to see my efforts to secure our food supply be prioritized by Secretary Perdue.”
Perdue’s announcement follows his trip to Montana earlier this month for Daines’ Montana Ag Summit, which brought together over 700 people for a conversation about the state of agriculture in Montana, including issues like fresh Brazilian beef.
During Perdue’s confirmation hearing, he called for thorough inspections of Brazilian beef by the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and that the policy of maintaining 100 percent re-inspection and testing of all meat imports from Brazil will be retained “indefinitely”.
Daines has raised this issue with Perdue in a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on March 22 that demanded USDA “utilize all appropriate and legal means necessary to ensure that U.S. consumers are not at risk to any imported meat from Brazil or other countries.
Daines is Montana’s only member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and is the Chairman of the Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources Subcommittee.
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