DA bans US poultry products

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily stopped the entry of poultry from California and Ohio following reports of an outbreak of bird flu in these areas in the United States.

Under its Memorandum Order No. 03 dated Jan. 15, the DA imposed a temporary ban on the entry of domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen originating from the two US states to protect the country’s poultry sector against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

As a result, the processing, evaluation of the application, and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance to the above-mentioned poultry imports were immediately suspended. But the order excluded shipments that were already in transit, loaded or accepted into ports before US authorities were officially informed about the DA directive, provided the products were slaughtered 14 days before the first outbreak.

California logged the first avian influenza outbreak in Fresno County on Nov. 20, 2023, while Ohio reported a similar occurrence in Union County the next day.

Precautionary measure

“The rapid spread of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in the [United States] in a short period of time since its first laboratory detection necessitates a wider coverage of trade restriction to prevent the entry of HPAI virus and protect the health of the local poultry population,” the DA said.

In 2016, US and Philippine veterinary authorities agreed that a statewide ban could only be imposed if there were three or more counties affected with avian influenza in one state.

The DA also temporarily barred the importation of poultry from the states of Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota between November and December 2023 for the same reason.

The Philippines is likewise battling this animal disease although Concepcion town in Tarlac is the only area with ongoing cases based on the Jan. 12 tally of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

The United States is one of the country’s sources of imported meat. According to the BAI, as of the end of November 2023, it had exported to the Philippines 203.5 million kilograms of meat, mainly chicken and pork.

The volume is equivalent to 18.2 percent of the 1.1 billion kg of meat imports that arrived during the period.