The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted the import ban on all poultry products from Brazil.
The DA said Secretary William Dar issued the memorandum order on December 14 ending the ban after Brazil provided “satisfactory evidence” that its foreign meat establishments (FMEs) follow food safety measures in compliance with good manufacturing practices.
The DA earlier asked Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply to provide several documentary requirements including a list of FMEs exporting to the Philippines which reported new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases since March 2020; copies of national guidelines on the control and prevention of Covid-19 cases; procedures or protocols in monitoring cases in meat facilities; certified copies of food safety manuals; current rate of COVID-19 testing on meat establishment workers; and revised guidelines for the production, packaging and storage of poultry mechanically deboned meat (MDM).
Last September, the DA partially lifted the ban and allowed the entry of MDM of poultry from Brazil as long as these are sourced from FMEs with no COVID cases.
The DA first slapped the ban last August following reports that SARS-COV 2, the causative agent of COVID-19, was detected in a surface sampling on chicken meat imported from Brazil to China.
