EU bans meat imports from 20 Brazilian plants

SAO PAULO (AP) - The European Union has decided to ban meat imports from 20 Brazilian plants amid concerns about sanitary controls.

The decision mostly affects poultry and was made by EU member states Thursday. European Commission spokeswoman Anca Paduraru said Friday the ban would take effect two days after its official publication. It was not clear when that would be.

Brazil's Agriculture Ministry had been trying to head off the decision, including by voluntarily suspending some poultry exports for a time. Now it says the EU is using the pretext of concerns about salmonella to unfairly block Brazilian imports. It plans to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization.

Plants belonging to meatpacking giant BRF are among those affected. BRF is under investigation for trying to evade safety checks.

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