November 18, 2009
Philippines lifts ban on US meat and bone meal imports
The Philippine Department of Agriculture said Tuesday (November 17) it has lifted import restrictions on meat and bone meal imports from the United States.
The decision follows a safety certification from the World Animal Health Organization, the department said in a statement.
The department imposed a ban on meat and bone meal imports from the US in 2005 following an outbreak of mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.
BSE is a fatal degenerative disease of the central nervous system of cattle, and is believed to arise from cattle being fed infected meat and bone meal. Human consumption of BSE-infected beef is thought to cause the fatal human variant, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
