The Philippine government has temporarily banned all meat imports from Brazil to ensure the safety of Filipino consumers after salmonella was detected in some of the shipments from the Latin American country.
The ban was announced by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol on Thursday. Piñol added the government will inspect meat-packing plants where imports that tested positive for salmonella were sourced.
“While we are conducting tests, we can temporarily stop the importation from Brazil and clear them [meat-packing plants] one by one,” he told reporters in an interview on July 20.
“It will be a total ban of all Brazilian companies. But we will clear them one by one as we conduct the validation,” Piñol added.
Piñol said his pronouncement takes effect on Thursday, and he will sign and release a memorandum order formalizing the temporary ban.
He added the Department of Agriculture (DA) will send a technical team to Brazil that would physically inspect and investigate the list of accredited foreign meat establishments approved to export meat and meat products to the Philippines.
“We will send people to Brazil by July 26,” he said. “They will check the facilities and then, as soon as they are cleared, they will be allowed to export to us.”
While is aware that banning Brazil meat imports would limit sources of beef for the Philippines, Piñol said he has to prioritize consumer safety. “Trade can always resume the moment things are cleared. Our first and foremost priority would be the safety of our consumers”.
Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) President Jesus C. Cham told the BusinessMirror that the ban could result in higher prices of meat and meat products in the domestic market.
“It will have a huge impact. For [mechanically deboned meat (MDM)], the ban on Brazil negates the lifting of the ban on Dutch poultry,” Cham said in an e-mail.
“The DA should immediately lift the poultry ban on other EU countries in order to increase the supply. For beef, I’m afraid there are very few alternatives,” Cham added.
Cham said the government should expedite its investigation to avert any spikes in local meat prices. “It is unfortunate that [the] DA has decided to ban Brazil until the plants are inspected. Brazil is an important source of meat for the Philippines.”
“To minimize the impact, we urge [the] DA to inspect the plants expeditiously, at the same time adhering to the standards of the international Codex Alimentarius Commission, of which the Philippines is a member,” he added.
The Mita chief also urged the DA to reconsider its “zero-tolerance policy” on salmonella, saying that the tests conducted by the government on meat imports are not in accordance with the Codex Alimentarius.
“With regard to Memorandum Circular [MC] 9-2008-5, our view is that it has erroneously classified fresh frozen meat and offal as being under two separate cases—case 1 and case 10. It has also classified fresh frozen comminuted meat [MDM] under two separate cases–Case 1 and Case 4” Cham said in a letter to National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) Executive Director Ernesto S. Gonzales dated July 13.
“Obviously, it is physically impossible for meat and offal to be both raw and cooked at the same time. It has to be one or the other. As well, chicken MDM is not fish,” he added in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror.
The Mita asked the DA to amend MC9-2008-5 so it would adhere to Codex Alimentarius Commission recommendations.
“As a logical consequence, we request that the zero-tolerance policy on salmonella on raw meat be discontinued,” Cham said.
He added salmonella in raw meat is “not a concern”, as all bacteria found in raw meat would be killed by cooking, especially when very well done like what Filipinos do.
“Salmonella in fully cooked, ready-to-eat, processed meat is dangerous. But you can see from the international standards [that] it is not a concern in raw meat,” he said.
“The concern in raw meat is the total bacteria population or aerobic plate count, also referred to as total plate count. As long as TPC is within limits, then the meat is fit for human consumption. Meaning, it is fit for cooking, not necessarily safe if eaten raw or half cooked,” he added.
Sought for comment, Piñol maintained the efficacy of the government’s zero-tolerance policy, adding that it is duty-bound to ensure that meat products being sold to and eaten by Filipinos are safe.
“If you could remember when we exported oysters that were reportedly positive for salmonella, the US immediately banned us. Why are we going to be lenient when they are the ones violating our safety provisions?” he asked.
However, the DA chief said he is open to discussing possible changes in MC9-2008-5 with meat-industry stakeholders. “We have to study it, we just cannot change policies overnight. We have to call industry stakeholders again and discuss it with them.”
Image credits: AP/Eraldo Peres