January 31, 2005

 

 

Philippines suspends Canadian beef imports

 

Philippines has imposed a temporary ban on the importation of beef and other meat products from Canada after Ottawa reported a new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad-cow disease.

 

According to Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap, the Department of Agriculture is imposing emergency measures to halt the entry of Canadian beef after Canadian agriculture official confirmed a new case of mad-cow disease, bringing the total number of North American cases to four.

 

The import ban will include live cattle, sheep and goats, bovine embryo, meat and bone meal and other feed ingredient derived from those animals coming from Canada.

 

Yap also ordered the Bureau of Animal Industry to suspend the processing, evaluation and issuance of veterinary quarantine clearance, and sanitary and pythosanitary (SPS) import permits of companies shipping beef and meat products from Canada to the Philippines.

 

Jose Molina, the bureau's director, said his office will stop and confiscate all shipments coming from Canada, and the BAI also issued a guideline to carry out the Secretary Yap's order.

 

On January 2, Canadian officials confirmed a case of the fatal brain disease, formally known as BSE, in a seven-year-old Alberta cow.

 

After initial tests in Alberta showed a potential case, the Canadian national veterinary lab in Winnipeg confirmed the result using far more precise and accurate tests.

 

Previously, the Philippines has been importing Canadian beef aged 30 months and below, in a selective basis.

 

Experts said that cows aged 30 months or younger is proven free from mad cow disease, and the infection could only be traced from older cows.

 

Based on the Department of Agriculture figure, the Philippines imported 2,000 metric tons of Canadian beef in 2003.