🇧🇷 Foods banned or restricted in Brazil but legal in the US

Overview

Brazil's food and drug safety is regulated by ANVISA (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária), which uses a positive-list system for food additives similar to the EU model. Brazil has banned ractopamine in meat production, restricts several synthetic food dyes, and has progressively tightened pesticide residue limits. Brazil was an early mover in banning trans fats at national level.

Key differences vs. the United States

Under ANVISA Resolution RDC 332/2019 (updated by RDC 632/2022), the production, import, use and offer of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) and foods formulated with them has been prohibited since January 1, 2023 — a stricter phase-out timeline than the US FDA's 2015 revocation of GRAS status for PHOs. ANVISA banned the pesticide carbendazim in food-crop production via RDC 739/2022, with a transitional period ending November 2024; it remains permitted in US agriculture. Ractopamine use in Brazilian pork exports has been suspended by MAPA since November 2012 for markets requiring ractopamine-free certification, though Brazil has historically permitted its domestic use — the picture differs from the US, where ractopamine remains standard in pork and beef production.