Samuda … stressed the importance of safeguarding the welfare of consumers. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries has imposed an immediate ban on imports of corned beef originating from Brazil. In the meantime, consumers are being cautioned not to eat corned beef until further notice. The move follows reports from Brazilian authorities that several major Brazilian meat processors have been selling rotten beef and poultry. The companies are also alleged to have paid hefty bribes to auditors in exchange for fraudulent sanitary licenses. The ministry says implicated Brazilian companies supply 99.5 per cent of the corned beef being sold in Jamaica. At an emergency meeting this afternoon, Industry Minister Karl Samuda stressed the importance of safeguarding the welfare of consumers. Officials from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, the Ministry of Health, the … Read entire article »

 KINGSTON, Jamaica – There has been a decline in the demand for Blue Mountain Coffee on the Japanese market, where 70 per cent of locally produced coffee is sold. This was disclosed during a meeting Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Karl Samuda had with coffee farmers, dealers, exporters as well as officials from the Coffee Industry Board, at the ministry’s Hope Road offices on last Friday, as part of a review of the sector. A news release from the ministry said the level of coffee production and the price to be paid per box to farmers were among the topics discussed.  According to the release, the decline in the demand for Blue Mountain Coffee on the Japanese market is because of the increase in prices charged by local processors. The product has moved … Read entire article »