December 16, 2008

Philippines authorities tighten measures on imported chicken

Amid the bird flu outbreak in Hong Kong, the Philippine government is making sure that no chicken imports from Hong Kong and China enter the country.

Presidential Anti-smuggling Group (PASG) head undersecretary Antonio Villar Jr. said in a statement that the measure was to ensure that the local poultry industry is protected.

The safety measures against bird flu covers all meat, eggs and other products from domestic and wild birds.

In addition, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Deputy Director Edmund Arugay had divided his team into three groups to check shipments of imported chicken.

Villar had ordered Arugay to also monitor other suspicious cargoes since smugglers may use other legally imported items as cover for the banned meat product from China or Hong Kong.

The Philippines is one of the countries in Southeast Asia which has not recorded any case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu.