Six countries have banned imports of Brazilian beef, including No. 6 importer Chile, since a case of atypical mad cow disease was confirmed last month, Brazil's foreign trade secretary Tatiana Prazeres said on Wednesday.
Brazil, the world's No. 1 beef exporter, is considering retaliation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the countries do not lift the bans, Prazeres told reporters in Brasilia, insisting that Brazilian beef is safe to eat.
"There is no basis for these decisions on health parameters and the government is analyzing what measures will be taken," she said. "Taking action at the WTO is on our radar."
China, Japan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Chile and Jordan have informed Brazil about their export bans since the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) said a cow that died in 2010 had atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), she said.
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