Federal Deputy Filipe Barros (PL) filed a Legislative Decree Project (PDL), last Friday (21), which seeks to veto Ordinance No. 1,179, of September 28, 2024, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, which obliges individual identification of eggs for human consumption.
The document calls for the revocation of the impression, directly in the eggshell, information such as validity date and registration number of the producer establishment.
In September 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture published a decree regarding the operation procedures of poultry farms and egg processing units in the country.
“Eggs intended for direct consumption must be individually identified, with the expiration date and with the registration number of the producing establishment, when no primary packaging is used,” says the ordinance.
This month, the price of chicken eggs increased up to 40% wholesale, due to high demand and restricted supply of food, according to a statement by the Brazilian Supermarket Association (Abras).
For Barros, the measure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock “goes beyond the limits of the regulatory competence of the Executive Power, by creating obligations that impose excessive burden on the productive sector, especially for small and medium producers.”
The parliamentarian also claims that “there is no specific legal provision that authorizes the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to impose the obligation of individual stamp on the eggshell. Law No. 9,972/2000, which provides for the classification of products of plant and animal origin, and Decree No. 9,013/2017, which regulates the industrial and sanitary inspection of animal products, do not establish such requirement. Thus, the Ordinance innovates without legal protection, characterized as abuse of regulatory power and violation of the principle of legality, enshrined in article 5, item II, of the Federal Constitution, ”he said.
According to the Filipe Barros project, the ordinance leads to increased “unfeasible operational costs for small and medium producers”, such as lasers printing equipment and non -toxic ink, which would lead to an increase of 20%.
The deputy cites five reasons to veto the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Look:
- Extrapolate the executive’s regulatory power
- Create disproportionate burden on small producers and consumers
- Increase bureaucracy without sufficient technical justification
- Violate the principles of legality, reasonableness, free enterprise and efficiency
- Create a dangerous precedent for future arbitrary regulations
The Legislative Decree bill now begins to be processed in the House of Representatives. For approval, a bicameral deliberation is required, that is, it must also pass through the Senate later. After this step, the PDL becomes, or not, a legislative decree.
