Philippines bans entry of poultry products from Poland

Philippine authorities have temporarily banned the entry of domestic and wild birds and their products from Poland due to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 in the European country.

In its Memorandum Order 78, Series of 2020, signed by Agriculture Secretary William Dar on December 21, the Department of Agriculture (DA) ordered the temporary banning of importation of domestic and wild birds and their products such as poultry meat, day old chicks, eggs, and semen.

DA's memo cited Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s report to the World Organization for Animal Health on December 3 that there was an outbreak of H5N8 which started on December 1 in Nakory, Suchozebry, Sidlecki (1426), Mazowieckie affecting birds as confirmed by its National Veterinary Research Institute.

“There is a need to prevent the entry of HPAI virus to protect the health of the local poultry population,” according DA's memorandum order that also contains the following measures:

• immediate suspension of the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) import clearance to the above-stated commodities the stoppage and confiscation of all shipments of the above-stated commodities (with the exception on heat-treated productions) into the country by all DA Veterinary Quarantine Officers the importation of meat products of poultry is subject to the conditions of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code

Likewise, the order noted that all poultry shipments with SPS import clearance issued on or before December 8, 2020 will be allowed provided that “frozen poultry meat has a slaughter/process date of 21 days prior to the start of the HPAI outbreak on or before November 10, 2020.

Futrher, it says “All shipments will be subject to veterinary quarantine rules and regulations.”

The order shall take effect immediately and shall remain enforced unless revoked in writing, the DA said. —LBG, GMA News