April 21, 2009
Philippines lifts ban on Belgium poultry imports
Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted the temporary ban on imports of birds, poultry and their products from Belgium, according to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap.
This was following confirmation from global animal health authorities that poultry and birds originating from Belgium are now free of the bird flu virus.
In a statement issued on Monday (Apr 20), Yap declared the entry of these products into the country, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen, as safe after an evaluation made by the DA's Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
BAI based its evaluation on the confirmation by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) of the report by Brussels ' Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) declaring that the H5N2 low pathogenic bird flu incident in Belgium has been successfully eradicated.
