Minister of Agriculture in Brussels: meat with growth hormone from Brazil did not reach Poland

Minister of Agriculture Stefan Krajewski told journalists on Monday in Brussels that meat with growth hormone from Brazil did not reach Poland. He added that inspections are being carried out to further verify all issues so that consumers feel safe.

The minister assures about inspections

The minister was asked about the security of food supplies from South American countries that are members of the Mercosur organization. The results of the audit published by the European Commission in 2024, and then repeated in 2025, revealed that Brazil is unable to prove that it does not export beef contaminated with estradiol, a growth hormone, to the European Union.

Krajewski replied that products entering the EU must be checked at the borders. – This meat with growth hormone from Brazil did not reach Poland, which does not change the fact that we have to carry out these inspections. In general, we are increasing and putting emphasis on controls, on our control institutions, we are increasing the number of full-time positions so that the food that potentially reaches us is controlled both at the borders and in Poland, he said.

He added that inspections are currently being carried out to further verify all issues so that consumers feel safe.

The Ministry of Agriculture announced in a statement last week that the questioned batches of beef from Brazil did not reach Poland.

Problematic meat from Brazil

The audit shows that Brazil, which after the 2024 EC inspection was obliged to temporarily suspend the export of meat from cows and heifers treated with hormones, resumed it earlier and did not inform the EC about it. As a result, in 2025, 33 tons of meat contaminated with growth hormone entered the European Union market. This meat came from 174 cattle treated with estradiol 17ß; Moreover, 15 health certificates were issued for the meat, which indicated that no growth hormones were used in the breeding.

Following the publication of the audit results, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Oliver Varhelyi said on Platform X that he had spoken to Brazilian Minister of Agriculture Carlos Favaro, who informed him of the immediate suspension of the unreliable certification body.

Krajewski was also asked on Monday whether Poland would challenge the EU-Mercosur agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. He replied that this issue was “the subject of analysis and discussion within the Polish government.”

– We are ready to file such a complaint, but remember that the Minister of Development and Technology and the Minister of Economy are responsible for signing contracts. Of course, we pointed out these threats related to the contract from the beginning. Today, we are also of the opinion that it should not be allowed to enter, because the European Parliament referred it to the CJEU to have it checked for compliance with the provisions of EU law, but also with the treaties – he added.

– Just as we saw great pressure to sign this agreement at all, we now also see great pressure from the President of the European Commission (Ursula von der Leyen) to make it partially binding – he said.

Signed on January 17 this year. The EU-Mercosur trade agreement introduces tariff preferences for exporters of products such as beef, poultry, dairy products, sugar and ethanol from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. The markets of these countries will, in turn, be opened to European industry. Although the agreement has not yet been ratified by the European Parliament, the EC could decide to implement it temporarily after it has been approved by at least one country belonging to the Mercosur bloc. On Thursday, the agreement was first ratified by the parliament of Uruguay, followed by Argentina.

The provisional application of the agreement means that the provisions of the agreement in the part relating to trade, which is the competence of the EC, come into force before it goes through the full ratification procedure and enters into force. In practice, this means the immediate abolition of customs duties and trade barriers. Other issues, such as investment protection, will remain pending until full ratification.

From Brussels Łukasz Osiński (PAP)

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