DA maintains ban on Brazil chicken import, awaits report from its agri agency
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Tuesday the temporary ban on chicken imports from Brazil stays as it awaits for the report of Brazil’s agriculture ministry on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevention and control procedures.
The DA, through the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), said it is awaiting a reply from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) on the needed documents related to COVID-19 prevention and control procedures among Brazilian factory workers in chicken facilities.
Earlier, the DA-BAI has imposed a temporary ban on Brazilian poultry after China reported that it found traces of COVID-19 on its chicken products.
The agency cited that the rising number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Brazil that included workers at meat processing facilities.
DA-BAI Director Ronnie Domingo said in a recent letter to Brazil MAPA chief veterinary officer Dr. Geraldo Marcos de Moraes, that the Philippines is committed to resolving the issue and noting the ban on Brazilian chicken products was issued as a precautionary measure.
“The Philippines greatly values its long-standing harmonious relations with Brazil. We look forward to your prompt response,” Domingo said.
The DA-BAI said Brazil’s MAPA is requested to submit documentary requirements of the following:
List of foreign meat establishments (FMEs) exporting to the Philippines, which reported COVID-19 cases, since March 2020;
Copies of MAPA-issued national guidelines on the control and prevention of COVID-19 cases in meat establishments (including protocol for resumption of operations);
MAPA procedures or protocols in monitoring COVID-19 cases in meat facilities;
Certified copies of food safety manuals (particularly on their protocol for COVID-19) of BRF (JBS), Seara and Aurora FMEs, that are reported banned by China;
Current rate of COVID testing on meat establishment workers; and
Revised guidelines for the production, packaging, and storage of poultry mechanically deboned meat (MDM).
To date, Brazil has the world’s second-worst COVID-19 outbreak, reporting more than 3.2 million cases and more than 105,000 deaths, since the start of the pandemic, it added.