Customs destroys P40M in frozen poultry, meat from China

The Bureau of Customs on Tuesday destroyed some P40 million worth of frozen poultry from China that was intercepted in the Philippines last October. BOC Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon said on his Twitter account that the smuggled goods that were destroyed and "rendered" included Peking ducks, pigeons, and suckling pigs. "The goods are 'rendered,' meaning they are ground up and boiled," Biazon said. A separate report by radio dzBB's Cecilia Villarosa said the destroyed items weighed some 60 tons. The destruction was done at the Manila North Harbor. A news release posted on the Official Gazette website said Customs operatives had seized the products following an x-ray scan of two 40-footer refrigerated vans from China last Oct. 16. Biazon said HEXA Trading, the shipment’s consignee, tried to conceal the frozen Peking ducks, pigeons, and piglets in the two 40-footer refrigerated vans by placing them behind a front layer of boxes filled with frozen mackerel. HEXA Trading declared its shipment as frozen mackerel and provided a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) import permit. “We are strictly enforcing the Department of Agriculture’s ban on the importation of frozen poultry and meat products from China to avoid the entry of the dreaded avian or bird flu virus in the Philippines,” Biazon said. “The destruction of these illegally imported food products from China today, is part of our measures to secure the safety of the Filipinos,” he added. The BOC said Tuesday’s condemnation and destruction is the largest so far this year. — DVM, GMA News