The inspectors of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) this week inspected the quality of rice and beans sold in supermarkets and wholesalers in the Federal District.
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The inspection suspended the sale of 37,809 kilos of beans and 774 kilos of rice, due to the low quality of the product on display, with unhealthy grains and impurities, such as stones, and due to disagreements as to the quality of the product indicated on the label and that found by on-site inspection.
Products with moldy and gnawed grains that may contain mycotoxins harmful to health have also been found.
After the results of the analyzes that will be carried out by the official laboratories, Mapa will notify those responsible for the irregular product so that they can take measures regarding the reprocessing of the product. Fines can reach R$ 532 thousand ($103,000) per batch of irregular product.
The inspection relied on the work of Tax Auditors from São Paulo and the Federal District. In all, 11 supermarket chains were inspected. The objective was to withdraw products that did not meet the MAPA's standards from the market, which resulted in a better product offered and avoided mistakes, errors and confusion for consumers regarding the quality of the beans and rice purchased.
When buying a bean that, for example, indicates that it is of better quality, such as Type 1, and yet in the inspection classification it is of low quality, it is understood that the consumer is deceived. The supervision of Mapa acts to avoid this type of situation. The actions also prevent unsuspecting consumers, when choosing the product only for the price, from ending up buying low quality products.
"MAPA's supervision will continue to be vigilant to guarantee the supply of good quality products to the population and avoid deception to consumers. More inspections are scheduled in other states of the federation throughout the year 2022" informed the Coordinator of Inspection of Vegetal Quality of Mapa, Tiago de Dokonal Duarte. ■