DA may lift ban on meat imports from Brazil in November

The Department of Agriculture (DA) may lift its ban on imported meat from Brazil in November, GMA News' Lei Alviz reported on 24 Oras on Tuesday.

The DA halted meat imports from Brazil in July after samples showed Salmonella bacteria during random inspection by the National Meat Inspection Service.

The United States has implemented a similar ban, the report said.

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said the lifting of the ban was recommended by a DA team that was sent to Brazil to inspect the sources of the imported meat.

"There was already a recommendation made by the team that visited Brazil. They checked everything... the sanitary permits, the findings are positive. But they have to go through the process," he said.

The country received 646 million kilograms of imported meat last year, the report said. Brazil accounted for the 20 percent of beef, 15 percent of poultry meat and 1 percent of pork meat imported to the Philippines.

The DA has a "zero-tolerance policy" on Salmonella on meat, which could cause food poisoning and diarrhea, even though meat importers say proper cooking can kill the bacteria.

"Mahirap kasing mag-take ng risk kung 'yung mga karne ay papayagan nating lumabas sa cold storage na positive sa Salmonella kasi there is a possibility na during handling of the meat, 'yung mga hahawak n'un, kung talagang hindi maingat, ay maaaring ma-infect ng Salmonella," said Simeon Amurao, director of Bureau of Animal Industry.

The Samahang Industriya sa Agrikultura (SINAG), meanwhile, is opposed to importing meat from Brazil due to reproted cases of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) there.

"Natatakot lang tayo sa animal to animal, baka ma-transmit sa ating alaga na hayop. Kasi ito hindi lang baboy pati baka. Kung may FMD yan yung panghandle ng tao tapos pumunta dun sa farm, may tendency na maapektuhan yung farm," said Rosendo So, SINAG president.

But according to Amurao, there are safeguards to ensure that meat from Brazil reaching the Philippines are FMD-free.

"We require the meet to be deboned, deglanded. Tapos binabakunahan yung hayop twice before slaughter. Mine-measure yung PH, yung acidity ng karne, dapat below 6. Tapos walang offals, walang head," he said. —KBK, GMA News