The officials from the safety authority Rosselkhoznador said they discovered that poultry had repeatedly been defrosted and then refrozen in the ports of Santos and Itajai.

Despite continual warnings from Rosselkhosnador the food safety breaches continued and the Russian authorities said they had no alternative but to ban the exports from certain suppliers.

The Russian vets said they were also concerned that one shipment of low grade poultry products that had been shipped to Russia was contaminated with Salmonella.

Rosselkhoznador has called on the Brazilian authorities to prove they have safety measures in place before exports can restart.