Brazil halts fish exports to EU

Brasilia, Dec 27: Brazil has announced a temporary halt on fish exports to the European Union following detection of irregularities in the way some Brazilian firms apply food-safety regulations.

The halt will take effect from January 3, in conjunction with the implementation of an action plan aimed at addressing the concerns raised by the EU following an audit in September, Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said.

The action plan calls for intensive inspection of the ships used by Brazilian seafood exporters to transport goods to Europe. Brazil also plans to ask the EU to establish different standards for wild-caught and farm-raised fish.

Inspectors had detected problems with six of the 10 companies they scrutinised, Efe news reported.