DA bans poultry products from France
A bird flu outbreak in France prompted the Department of Agriculture (DA) to temporarily ban the entry of poultry imports from the European country.
Effective immediately, Memorandum Order No. 40 seeks to protect the local poultry population and Filipino consumers from the effects of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
The moratorium is applied to domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen originating from France.
Per the memo dated Sept. 27, the agency immediately suspended the processing, evaluation and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for the above-mentioned commodities.
The DA will stop and confiscate all poultry shipments, except heat-treated products, at all major ports of entry.
The ban excludes shipments from France that are already in transit, loaded or accepted in ports before the official communication of the order, provided that the poultry products were slaughtered or produced on or before July 25.
French authorities had informed the World Organization for Animal Health of an outbreak of H5 (N untyped) HPAI in Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne affecting domestic birds.
France is one of the country’s imported meat suppliers, delivering 20.91 million kilograms of meat products as of June, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI). The majority of its shipments were pork.
The volume is equivalent to 3.23 percent of the 647.75 million kg of imported meat purchased by the country in the January to June period.
