The Philippine government has slapped a temporary ban on the importation of poultry meat and products from two municipalities in Belgium, where a lethal strain of the bird-flu virus has been detected.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) issued Memorandum Order (MO) 31 authorizing the ban on Belgian poultry products. This, after Brussels confirmed to the Office International des Epizooties or World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) that there was an outbreak of H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus in Oostkamp and Menen in West Flanders, Belgium.
“There is a need to prevent the entry of HPAI virus to protect the health of the local poultry population,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in MO 31, a copy of which was given to reporters on August 3.
The official report by Brussels to the OIE was submitted by Dr. Jean-Francois Heymans, director, Animal Health and Safety of Products of Animal Origin, Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain, on June 19 and 21.
In the report, Heymans said there were outbreaks of H5N8 HPAI virus in Waardamme and Lauwe-Menen in West Flanders affecting birds as confirmed by Belgium’s National Laboratory, Cerva.
With the ban in place, the Philippine government has suspended the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance of domestic and wild birds and poultry products from Belgium.
The DA warned that it will confiscate all shipments of the banned commodities originating from Belgium. The ban does not cover heat-treated products.
“Frozen poultry meat with slaughter/process date of 21 days prior to the HPAI outbreaks are allowed to enter the country subject to veterinary quarantine rules and regulations,” Piñol said.
The Philippines remains free from the dreaded avian flu virus, which crippled the poultry industries of some countries in Southeast Asia.
The government is seeking to capitalize on this and is now on the lookout for countries where it could export its poultry products. Currently, the Philippines exports yakitori chicken to Japan.
Image credits: Bloomberg
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