AKIPRESS.COM - Hong Kong has joined China is suspending meat imports from Brazil, reports BBC.

They are the top two consumers of Brazilian meat and have suspended imports over allegations that companies have been selling unsafe produce for years.

The European Union has also said it will stop buying from companies implicated in the scandal.

The crisis was triggered by a huge federal police operation on Friday.

It found evidence that meat-packers had been selling rotten and substandard produce for several years.

Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety said it had temporarily suspended the import of frozen and chilled meat and poultry "in view of the fact that the quality of the meat from Brazil is in question".

Brazil is the world's biggest red meat and poultry exporter and the meat industry plays an important part in the economy.

President Michel Temer held emergency meetings over the weekend and even invited foreign diplomats to a steak house on Sunday evening to try to reassure them.

"The Brazilian government reiterates its confidence in the quality of a national product that has won over consumers and obtained the approval of the most rigorous markets," said Mr Temer.

But the effort was in vain. China, the EU, South Korea, Hong Kong and Chile have now announced restrictions on Brazilian meat products.

Together they account for nearly one third of Brazilian meat exports in 2016, O Globo newspaper reported.