Beef on Track Program publishes the Monitoring Protocol

The Monitoring Protocol for Cattle Suppliers in the Amazon of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, a result of the work to align and unify the auditing procedures of the purchases of cattle in the Amazon, has just been uploaded to the website of the Beef on Track Program and is another important step towards increasing the consistency and robustness of this process.

In 2009, the largest meatpackers in the country signed commitments agreeing to monitor the purchase of cattle sourced from the Amazon in compliance with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, through the Terms of Adjustment of Conduct of Pará and the Beef TAC, and civil society organizations, through the Public Cattle-Ranching Commitment in the Amazon.

The Monitoring Protocol for Cattle Suppliers in the Amazon was officially approved by the 4th Coordination and Review Chamber of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2020 and is aimed at setting down the parameters and detailing the rules for monitoring suppliers and cattle purchases. In addition, this document has defined that the monitoring implemented by the meatpackers be audited annually to ensure that the commitment is being met.  

"The Monitoring Protocol for Cattle Suppliers in the Amazon unifies the verification methodology and creates comparability for the audit reports of the meatpackers. It is vital for the audit results to be more reliable and transparent and to generate value for meatpackers and civil society", stated Cecilia Korber from Imaflora, which is part of the protocol development team.

The Beef on track Program believes that now with the approved protocol, meatpackers can conduct an integrated audit to ensure all their commitments are being met and can demonstrate their efforts in monitoring cattle suppliers in the Amazon. In addition, it enables retailers and wholesalers to access the information needed to assess their beef suppliers and supply their clients and consumers with products from cattle of responsible origin, as well as civil society, which can now monitor the progress of the productive sector in reducing deforestation in the Amazon.

The document sets forth the guidelines for the audits, ranging from the scope of verification and the hiring of the auditing organisation to the commitment with transparency of results.