Brazil-based meat and poultry company BRF says it is cooperating with authorities in the latest investigation related to the Operation Weak Flesh scandal.
In an announcement to the market on the BRF investor relations webpage, BRF stated that it is collaborating with authorities concerning “the clarification of the facts raised under the investigations conducted by the Federal Police and the Brazilian General Prosecutor.”
In the same announcement, BRF stated that none of its offices, facilities, or managers were subject to any search and seizure procedures within the scope of this operation.
According to a report from Reuters, the company said the people who were targeted in the Operation Weak Flesh investigation are no longer employed by BRF.
On March 17, the Brazilian Federal Police announced its operation to investigate allegations that meat and poultry companies, including BRF, bribed Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Farming inspectors to allow spoiled or adulterated meat to be sold and exported.
Through bribery of public officials, producers allegedly sold products that failed to meet quality standards on international and domestic markets, authorities said at the time. Investigations suggest that public officials received bribes to facilitate the production of adulterated food, for which health certificates were issued without carrying out the inspection.
Since the Operation Weak Flesh scandal broke, BRF has underwent numerous changes in its executive team. In 2019 alone, Lorival Luz was named global chief executive officer and Carlos Alberto Bezerra de Moura was named chief financial and investor relations officer.
BRF, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, is the second largest poultry company in Brazil and the third largest poultry company in the world, slaughtering 1.63 broilers annually. However, since those slaughter figures were released, the company sold its operations in Argentina, Thailand and Europe.
JBS, the largest poultry company in Brazil and in the world, was also investigated in the Operation Weak Flesh probe.
