January 2, 2008

Brunei warns against Philippine pork amid Ebola outbreak

Brunei's Ministry of Health and Agriculture Department (MHAD) has issued a precaution to the public, as the number of pigs carrying the Ebola-Reston virus in the Philippines have been increasing.

MHAD confirms that Brunei does not import raw pork, frozen or chilled from the Philippines but processed pork products are currently being imported into the country in small numbers, according to importation records from the Food Quality and Safety Control Section (FQSCS), Environmental Sanitation Health Section, Ministry of Health.

As a precaution, MHAD has stated that it would assist and ensure that raw meat and processed pork products from the Philippines will not be sold in the market or imported into Brunei for the mean time.

They have also advised importers and businesses to remove all pork products dating back six months from the market and to submit them to the FQSCS or any health office nationwide to be destroyed.