THE Philippines has lifted a ban it has imposed on meat derived from cattle imported from Ireland and horses from Japan after the government determined that their importation poses minimal risk to human health and the local animal health population.

In Memorandum Order (MO) 13, the Department of Agriculture (DA) lifted the temporary ban on importing meat and meat products derived from cattle from Ireland, subject to a number of conditions consistent with the provisions of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) Animal Health Code.

“Recent  international guidelines set out by the OIE Animal Health Code provides for conditions under which all beef and beef products from animals of all ages may be safely traded,” said Agriculture Secretary Arthur  Yap.

Boneless and bone-in beef can be sourced from cattle of all ages devoid of any nerves and other bovine spongiform encelopathy (BSE)-specified risk materials (SRM), the beef should not come from downer cattle, the age of the slaughter of the cattle should be certified by the Ireland government and the slaughter date of the cattle or the production date of the beef should be included in the packaging label.

The temporary ban on cattle meat imported from Ireland was implemented following the issuance of MO 19 issued by former agriculture secretary Edgardo Angara in 2000. The ban was put in place after the OIE confirmed the increasing cases of BSE or mad-cow disease in European countries during that year.

Meanwhile, the importation of horses from Japan is now permitted by the Philippine government after the DA-released MO 12.

The DA will allow the entry of imported horses from Japan subject to strict protocols.

Yap said that based on the OIE Animal Health Code, horses can be imported from an equine influenza (EI)-free country, zone or compartment.

The DA noted that the United States and member-countries of the European Union, except France, continue to accept Japanese horses even after EI occurrence in Japan. The importation was subject to agreed animal health requirements.

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RP lifts ban on cattle meat from Ireland, racing horses from Japan

THE Philippines has lifted a ban it has imposed on meat derived from cattle imported from Ireland and horses from Japan after the government determined that their importation poses minimal risk to human health and the local animal health population.