128kg of Brazilian beef that contained a banned growth promoting hormone entered the Irish market, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has confirmed.
On December 12, the FSAI was notified by the Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland that a consignment of beef, with an expiry date of October 31, 2025, from animals that had been treated with oestradiol, had been distributed from Northern Ireland to three food businesses in the Republic of Ireland in September.
The implicated beef had been imported from Brazil. Environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) undertook checks at those three food businesses.
The FSAI said that none of the implicated meat remains on the market.
The administration of oestradiol, which can be used as a growth promoting hormone, is not allowed in animals intended for the food chain in the EU.
The FSAI said the incident is linked to a notification from the European Commission on November 11, 2025, to all member states, which said that, following contact with the Brazilian authorities during an audit, EU officials were informed that carcasses from animals treated with oestradiol were mixed into consignments of beef destined for the EU.
Brazilian beef
The beef was exported legally in several consignments to the EU, namely to the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, and subsequentially distributed onwards.
The European Commission had stated in this notification to member states that these consignments should be traced and withdrawn from the EU market or recalled from consumers.
The FSAI said it welcomed an announcement by the European Commission of the reinforcement of official controls on products imported into the EU, which is “in line with existing official controls in Ireland”.
“These measures set out to strengthen official controls at EU borders and in third countries. Ireland will continue to implement and enforce EU food law to ensure EU citizens continue to benefit from the highest standards of food safety,” the FSAI said.
