Respostas às perguntas enviadas pela Repórter Brasil em parceria com o The Guardian:

Repórter Brasil — Operation Rios Voadores revealed that, in 2013, JBS bought cattle from the Curuá farm, from Altamira (PA), on behalf of Ana Paula Junqueira. This is the same farm where slave labour was detected during an operation undertaken by the Federal Public Ministry. How does the company justify the purchase of cattle reared using this criminal practice?

JBS — The Curuá farm has never been included in the Ministry of Labor’s ‘black list’ for slave labour. As stated at the time, as soon as JBS became aware of irregularities in the Curuá farm’s operations in 2016, all livestock purchases from the Ana Paula Junqueira family were immediately stopped.

As previously detailed, JBS does not buy cattle from any farms which have any association with slave labour, as listed by the Brazilian government and updates all of the information contained in the list of areas embargoed by IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis – Brazilian Environmental Agency) and the Ministry of Labor’s ‘black list’ of slave labour on a daily basis.

Repórter Brasil — Operation Rios Voadores revealed that JBS bought cattle from Antônio Junqueira Vilela and Ana Paula Junqueira Vilela, which, according to public data provided by IBAMA, included areas embargoed for environmental crimes. Why, even with access to this information, did the company continue to buy livestock from these owners?

JBS — This is an issue that surfaced several years ago and was swiftly dealt with at that time. In 2013, JBS purchased cattle from Ana Paula Junqueira Vilela’s Curuá farm, which has never been on IBAMA’s list of embargoed areas. As soon as JBS learned of the operational irregularities at Curuá farm, all farms related to Antônio Junqueira Vilela and Ana Paula Junqueira Vilela family were immediately blocked from selling livestock to JBS.

As previously detailed, JBS cross-checks the information contained in the list of areas embargoed by IBAMA on a daily basis with its register of suppliers, in order to identify and block any purchase from farms behaving irregularly. This procedure is more restrictive than that required by Brazilian law (Federal Law 9605/98), which vetoes the commercialization of livestock only from the embargoed area.

Repórter Brasil — Ibama’s Carne Fria operation revealed in 2017 that JBS bought 3,721 heads of cattle from the Café Paraíso farm, from Agropecuária Santa Bárbara Xinguara S / A. In 2012, five employees of the same company (Agropecuária Santa Bárbara Xinguara) were found in a situation similar to that of slave labour by the Ministry of Labour. Why did JBS not stop sourcing livestock from this company?

JBS — As stated at the time, as soon as JBS became aware of the Agropecuária Santa Bárbara Xinguara S/A irregularities through the IBAMA’s Carne Fria operation, all farms related to Agropecuária Santa Bárbara Xinguara S/A were immediately blocked from selling livestock to JBS.

In order to identify and block suppliers involved with slave labour practises, JBS cross-checks the information contained in the ‘black list’ for slave labour published by Ministry of Labour on a daily basis with the company’s register of suppliers. The Agropecuária Santa Bárbara Xinguara S/A has never been included in this list.

Repórter Brasil — Ibama’s Cold Meat operation showed that JBS acquired cattle directly from rural properties which had been embargoed for illegal deforestation. This occurred, for example, in the slaughterhouses of Santana do Araguaia and Redenção (Pará). For example, JBS acquired cattle from Fazenda Santa Tereza, located in Cumaru do Norte / PA, on 07/26/2013.

SICAR’s public consultation of the property (PA-1502764-6089878DEFDD4F868E3E94219F6C1476) shows that at the date of purchase, 95.26% of the property was in an embargoed area. What was the flaw in the JBS control system that allowed this direct purchase from farms within foreclosed areas?

JBS — As previously described “livestock triangulation” is beyond the control capabilities of any company’s monitoring system in its current form, as presently there is no access to the government’s system for tracking animals (Guia de Trânsporte Animal or GTA; the Brazilian equivalent term for a Livestock Movement Certificate). JBS is part of a newly formed working group, consisting of the Brazilian government, local state authorities, IBAMA, Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and the industry, focused on resolving this issue, which demands a better disclosure of public information to track back the indirect cattle suppliers across the supply chain.

A JBS também enviou, ainda em resposta, a seguinte nota:

“With respect to Carne Fraca, JBS has stressed from the very beginning that quality has always been its highest priority. Furthermore, as previously stated, of the 21 plants under review for tainted products, none were JBS facilities. Not a single JBS plant has been closed down by the authorities and no executives of the company have been prosecuted. JBS has continuously emphasised that it will not tolerate deviations from established procedures and will take all appropriate measures. Furthermore, all JBS products are subject to rigorous inspection, both in Brazil and on arrival in the EU:

·         Factories must be approved for EU export – they must meet EU standards and pass an EU audit

·         Independent government inspectors (MAPA – Ministério da Agricultura; Ministry of Agriculture) are present at all stages of the production process on a daily basis

·         All facilities routinely submit product to ISO 17025 government accredited external laboratories for microbiological analysis as part of the EU export requirements

·         For export products, the factory monitoring and verification systems that are in place are implemented and documented to meet EU standards

·         Brazilian authorities audit each export approved facility quarterly to ensure standards

·         All consignments destined for the EU are issued with a health certificate by Brazilian government inspectors. Each container has its own health certificate.

·         Upon arrival in the UK, the documentation is checked by EU veterinary staff to ensure that the shipment complies with EU requirements (CVED)

·         Random microbiological and residue testing is conducted by the border inspections team in the UK

·         Only when all of these steps have been completed satisfactorily is meat able to enter the country

As previously detailed, JBS does not buy cattle from any farms which have any association with slave labour, as listed by the Brazilian government and updates all of the information contained in the list of areas embargoed by IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis – Brazilian Environmental Agency) and the Ministry of Labor’s ‘black list’ of slave labor on a daily basis. JBS is a first-time signatory of the 2009 Cattle Agreement in the Amazon and was the first food company to partner with InPACTO – National Pact Institute for the Eradication of Slave Labor – and fully adheres to its commitments in this regard.

JBS is committed to a zero deforestation supply chain and is signatory to the Cattle Agreement in the Amazon. Cattle purchases made by JBS follow a monitoring system to ensure, throughout Brazil, complete fulfilment of the criteria for responsible livestock purchase. The most recent annual independent audit gave JBS a 99.9% compliance rating.

The Company maintains a sophisticated socio-environmental monitoring system to ensure that all livestock is responsibly produced, and to identify and block any offending suppliers. Through geo-referenced farm data and satellite imagery, JBS analyses nearly 37,000 cattle suppliers in the Amazon region, on a daily basis covering 59 million hectares (590,000 km²) in the region, located across 437 municipalities. JBS also has access to farm condition analysis information from government agencies such as IBAMA and the Ministry of Labor of nearly 70,000 cattle suppliers.

JBS cross-checks the information contained in the list of areas embargoed by IBAMA on a daily basis with its register of suppliers, in order to identify and block any purchase from farms behaving irregularly. This procedure is more restrictive than that required by Brazilian law (Federal Law 9605/98), which vetoes the commercialization of livestock only from the embargoed area.

JBS maintains a constant dialogue with Greenpeace in further developing and strengthening the Cattle Agreement in the Amazon. JBS does not purchase and has not purchased any livestock from the suppliers on the list of areas embargoed by IBAMA. It is a matter of public record that JBS has already responded to Greenpeace and demonstrated that the cases identified by IBAMA as “livestock triangulation” are beyond the control capabilities of any company’s monitoring system in its current form, as presently there is no access to the government’s system for tracking animals (Guia de Trânsporte Animal or GTA; the Brazilian equivalent term for a Livestock Movement Certificate). JBS is part of a newly formed working group, consisting of the Brazilian government, local state authorities, IBAMA, Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and the industry, focused on resolving this issue, which demands a better disclosure of public information to track back the indirect cattle suppliers across the supply chain.

JBS continues to advocate the implementation of a “Green GTA” – the adoption of a new procedure whereby the official entity that issues the GTAs would be obliged to consult the public list of areas embargoed by IBAMA before issuing the document. For those properties (direct and indirect cattle suppliers) present in the list of areas embargoed by IBAMA, no GTAs would be issued, thereby preventing the entry of livestock from farms with deforestation issues into the market.”

Leia a íntegra da reportagem em: “JBS comprou de fazendas flagradas com trabalho escravo e desmatamento ilegal”