Fact check: Will the Mercosur trade deal open the door to 'toxic' food in the EU?

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Fact check: Will the Mercosur trade deal open the door to 'toxic' food in the EU?  From farmers burning tyres outside the European Parliament to motorway blockades across the continent, tensions around the EU-Mercosur trade agreement don't look set to go away. Many critics argue that it will lead to a flood of "toxic" products on the European market, but how true is this?  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/01/28/fact-check-will-the-mercosur-trade-deal-open-the-door-to-toxic-food-in-the-eu  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Will the EU-Mercosur agreement really bring toxic food to our plates?

00:05Several MEPs along with consu-

00:10and farmers' organization are warning that the Mercosur deal could lead to food imports

00:15containing substances that are banned in the EU.

00:18The European Commission, however,

00:20really denies these claims.

00:22The Commission is clear EU food safety rules are here to stay.

00:25Pesticides residues are only allowed below European Food Safety Authority limits.

00:30And controls, the Commission says, will be enforced at every stage from borders

00:35or checks by member states to on-the-ground audits in Mercosur countries.

00:39But here is the key...

00:40At that point, these controls are not new.

00:42The EU already imports large quantities

00:45of food from Mercosur countries today under the same sanitary framework.

00:50Are those controls really efficient?

00:52What we see with Foodwatch is that

00:55the current regulation of control in the EU-Mercosur is not sufficient

00:59and the means...

01:00not necessary.

01:01Since it's legal that takehaabout

01:11to take up the ECONIC Menschen's services

01:17that they can only take...

01:05has been treated with an active antibiotic growth,

01:07while it's forbidden in the EU.

01:09It's not the...

01:10The critics argue that the safeguards are not strong enough and

01:15that the authorities don't enforce them enough, but this claim is disputed, contacted by the

01:20Cube, Aline van den Broek, spokesperson for AFSCA, Belgium's federal food safety author.

01:25The security authority said that health checks at border inspection posts are properly enforced.

01:30Still in 2024, the Commission intervenes, auditing Brazil over trust big

01:35security issues in beef exports to the EU. As a result, Brazil's suspended exports

01:40of female bovines to the European market. Meanwhile, the political battle continues.

01:45Recently, the European Parliament sent the EU-Mercosur agreement to the European

01:50Court of Justice over legal concerns, potentially delaying its ratification by a

01:55three to two years.

02:00For more information, visit www.fema.gov.au.

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