Philippines bans chicken imports from Brazil amid reports of COVID-19 contamination

The Philippine government on Friday imposed a temporary ban on the importation of poultry meat from Brazil, following reports of COVID-19 contamination detected in a sample of frozen chicken wings.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar issued a memorandum order, on August 14, imposing the importation ban as a “precautionary measure.”

Citing Section 10 of Republic Act 10611 or the Food Safety Act of 2013, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said "in specific circumstances when the available relevant information use for in risk assessment is insufficient to show that a certain type of food or food product does not pose a risk to consumer health, precautionary measures shall be adopted."

Several online news agencies have reported that SARS-COV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, was detected on chicken wings imported from Brazil, during a screening conducted in Longgang District of Shenzhen, in China, the DA said.

China said on Thursday a sample of frozen chicken wings imported into Shenzhen from Brazil had tested positive for the virus.

The discovery by local disease control centers was part of routine screenings of meat and seafood imports that have been carried out since June, when a new outbreak in Beijing was linked to the city's Xinfadi wholesale food center.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that there are more than three million confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil and 103,026 deaths, with a significant number of cases among workers in meat establishments.

The DA said the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) have been monitoring COVID-19-related outbreaks in foreign meat establishments (FMEs).

One of the primary considerations by the DA in the accreditation of FMEs for importation of meat into the country is the health status of workers in compliance with good manufacturing practices (GMP).

The DA also assured the public that chicken products currently in the Philippine market are safe to eat, and strongly urges the public to verify sources of information, with either BAI or the NMIS for proper guidance.

“Since this is a COVID-19 issue related to public health, workers engaged in meat establishments, poultry dressing plants, slaughterhouses and meat processing plants, are required to report to the DOH any unusual sicknesses,” it said.

As part of national efforts to control COVID-19, the DA recommended that poultry farm and slaughterhouse owners should consult their respective licensed veterinarians to observe farm biosafety and biosecurity measures.

The NMIS has issued guidelines and is monitoring the implementation of strategies to prevent and control the transmission of COVID-19 in meat establishments. -MDM, GMA News