April 9, 2021

Philippines lifts import ban on Dutch deboned poultry meat from bird flu-free regions

The Philippines Department of Agriculture has lifted a ban on mechanically deboned poultry meat imports from the Netherlands if the region of origin in the country is free from of highly pathogenic bird flu as listed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), The Philippine Star reported.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the ban was lifted to address the shortage of affordable mechanically deboned poultry meat as requested by the domestic meat processing sector.

The Department of Agriculture suspended poultry imports from the Netherlands from January 11 due to bird flu outbreaks in the country.

Representatives from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) will review local meat processing facilities on-site equipped with thermal processing equipment. Only inspected, accredited meat processers will be permitted to import poultry MDM from bird flu-free zones in the Netherlands.

All imports will need to be reviewed before being issued a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC). Imports can only be sourced from one establishment, with imports from multiple sources not permitted.

- The Philippine Star