December 12, 2012

Philippines disposes frozen poultry shipment from China

The Philippines' Bureau of Customs has disposed a shipment of frozen poultry from China which was intercepted in October.

BOC Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon said that the smuggled goods that were destroyed and "rendered" included Peking ducks, pigeons, and suckling pigs.

"The goods are 'rendered,' meaning they are ground up and boiled," Biazon said.

Cecilia Villarosa said the destroyed items weighed some 60 tonnes. The disposal was done at the Manila North Harbor.

Customs operatives had seized the products following an x-ray scan of two 40-footer refrigerated vans from China last October 16.

Biazon said HEXA Trading, the shipment's consignee, tried to conceal the frozen Peking ducks, pigeons, and piglets in the two 40-footer refrigerated vans by placing them behind a front layer of boxes filled with frozen mackerel.

HEXA Trading declared its shipment as frozen mackerel and provided a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) import permit.

"We are strictly enforcing the Department of Agriculture's ban on the importation of frozen poultry and meat products from China to avoid the entry of avian or bird flu virus in the Philippines," Biazon said.

"The destruction of these illegally imported food products from China, is part of our measures to secure the safety of the Filipinos," he added.

The BOC said condemnation and destruction is the largest so far this year.