May 29, 2008

Philippines resumes poultry imports from Canada

The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) announced Wednesday that it would lift its temporary ban on Canadian birds and poultry products.

DA secretary Arthur Yap said that the risk from contamination from importing poultry products from Saskatchewan, Canada is negligible.

Yap cited that the final report by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), or the Animal Health Organization, states that 90 days have passed without any evidence of bird flu since the cleaning and disinfection of infected premises in the province.

The Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the OIE sets a three-month period before a country can regain its bird flu-free status after conducting a stamping-out campaign to eradicate birds infected with the avian influenza virus.

Previously, the Philippines also lifted bans on the entry of birds, poultry and poultry products from Germany and Italy after the OIE had declared the countries free of bird flu virus.

The Philippines still imposes a ban on imports of birds, poultry and its products from Korea, Saudi Arabia and Poland.