A police inquiry into corruption and unsanitary conditions in Brazil's powerful meatpacking industry contains more than 8,000 pages of evidence suggesting systematic fraud, not just isolated abuses, said three sources with direct knowledge of the probe, Reuters reported. The evidence, they said, will contradict assertions by the government and meat companies that police raids last week on meatpackers accused of bribery to conceal health violations had unfairly tarnished the entire industry. Brazil's meat sector, facing suspensions from over a dozen of the more than 150 countries to which it sells, is scrambling to preserve business that fueled $14 billion in exports in 2016. So far, police have made public only a small percentage of the alleged abuses by meatpackers, the sources said, from small firms supplying the domestic market to major exporters who rank among the world's largest food companies. Most of the suspected crimes, they added, remain under judicial seal. "The investigation does focus on endemic corruption," one source with direct knowledge of the inquiry told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The person is not allowed to discuss the investigation publicly. None of the three sources would name companies or individuals implicated by the evidence. An Agriculture Ministry spokeswoman said the ministry would work with police and deal with further details as they emerge. Since the scandal emerged one week ago, meatpackers and government officials have sought a balance between condemning any wrongdoing and asserting that Brazil boasts the highest sanitation standards of any meat industry worldwide.
