THE Department of Agriculture (DA) temporarily barred the entry of pork originating from Sweden after the European country reported an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF).
At the same time, the DA lifted the temporary ban on the importation of poultry from two other meat exporters, Chile and Turkiye, as both countries had resolved all cases of bird flu or avian influenza.
The temporary importation ban covers domestic and wild pigs and their products including pork meat, pork skin and semen sourced from Sweden.
“There is a need for regulatory controls through sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures to protect human and animal health,” the DA said in a memorandum order.
It added: “Sweden is an accredited country to export swine-related commodities to the Philippines and there is a need to prevent the entry of any ASF-susceptible products originating from Sweden that might enter the country through hand-carried products from international vessels or any other possible routes.”
The DA immediately suspended the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance.
All veterinary quarantine officers/inspectors will also have to stop and confiscate the entry of these commodities at all major ports of entry.
The DA will only accept shipments from Sweden that are already in transit, loaded or accepted at the port before the official communication of the order to Swedish authorities, provided the products were slaughtered or produced on or before Aug. 6. (Jordeene B. Lagare © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
