Importation of bovine by-products OK’d despite ban on live cattle

MANILA, Philippines  —Importation of certain agricultural products from Thailand, Russia, South Korea and Libya are now allowed despite a temporary import ban on the entry of live cattle and buffalo from these four countries, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

According to DA spokesperson Arnel de Mesa, the Philippines mainly sources supplies of live cattle and buffalo from India, South America, the United States and Europe.

Early this month, the DA ordered an import ban on bovines as well as their products and by-products — such as milk and milk products, embryos, skin and semen — from the four nations due to the outbreaks of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) within their borders.

However, the agency promulgated Memorandum Circular No. 06 “to ensure that safe trade is practiced during disease situations.”

READ: PH meat imports down in 2023

The circular issued on Feb. 22 aims “to clarify the conditions of the applied temporary restriction” regarding commodities that may be affected by LSD, a transboundary disease that affects cattle.

Exemptions

The DA said traders can bring in skeletal muscle meat, casings, gelatin and collagen, tallow, hooves and horns since these are considered “safe commodities” and are not included in the temporary ban, subject to the country’s import terms and conditions.

Also, milk and milk products coming from these countries can be imported as well, provided the international veterinary certificate attested and signed by the country of origin’s veterinary authority is submitted.

The certification should attest that the milk and milk products were subjected to pasteurization or any combination of control measures with equivalent performance as described in the Codex Alimentarius Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk Products.

Further, the DA allows the entry of meal and flour from blood, meat other than skeletal muscle or bones from bovines and water buffaloes, as long as traders submit the international veterinary certificate stating the products were processed using heat treatment to a minimum internal temperature of 65°C for at least 30 minutes.

The exemption also applies to hides of bovines and water buffaloes, on the condition these products were derived from animals that had undergone ante- and post-mortem inspections.

Alternatively, hides of bovines and water buffaloes will be allowed entry if these have been dry-salted or wet-salted for at least 14 days before dispatch, treated in salt for at least seven days with the addition of 2 percent sodium carbonate, or dried for at least 42 days at a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius.

Precautions

Other products of bovines and water buffaloes are likewise excluded from the import ban, provided the certificate attesting the products were processed to ensure the destruction of the disease is provided.

In the case of meal and flour from blood, meat other than skeletal muscle or bones from bovines and water buffaloes; hides of bovines and buffaloes; and other products of bovines and water buffaloes, the international veterinary certificate should attest the necessary precautions were taken after processing to avoid contact of the commodities with any potential source of LSD.