PHL authorities guarding borders against contaminated pork products —BOC

Philippine authorities are strictly guarding  country’s borders to prevent the entry of pork products from countries hounded by the African swine fever.

Officials of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and Port of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) district collector Mimel Talusan conducted briefings and information dissemination for Bureau of Customs (BOC) frontliners at Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to strengthen their vigilance against infected products.

“Customs NAIA will continuously coordinate closely with regulating agencies to secure the borders against entry and exit of prohibited, regulated goods to protect the swine industry and livelihood in the Philippines,” the BOC said Tuesday.

“Safe meat products accompanied by import permit or the Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Import Clearance are the ones qualified for release in ports,” the BOC said in a statement.

According to the BAI, a viral outbreak could have an impact on at least 40 million live pigs in the country and adversely affect the P2-billion hog industry.

The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) earlier claimed that shipments of frozen meat and processed pork products from Belgium entered the country despite an importation ban due to an epidemic.

Aside from Belgium, the government banned the import of pork products from China, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. —Anna Felicia Bajo/VDS, GMA News