Changes by the new government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to a federal agency tasked with upholding the sanitary standards of Brazilian agricultural products are drawing criticism from civil servants in the Agriculture Ministry, documents show.
An internal ministry memo seen by Reuters warns that a decree published on Jan. 1 reshuffling staff at the agency could undermine food inspection services and a critical network of six federal laboratories responsible for controlling vaccines, veterinary drugs and phytosanitary pesticides.
