The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily suspended the accreditation of all Brazilian meat establishments to export meat products to the Philippines after some shipments from the Latin American country tested positive for salmonella.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol issued Memorandum Order (MO) 32, dated July 31, which authorized the temporary suspension of the accreditation of all Brazilian foreign meat establishments (FMEs).
“According to Memorandum Circular 9-2008-5, Series of 2008, entitled ‘Microbiological limits for assessment of microbiological quality fresh, chilled and frozen meat’, microbiological limits for salmonella spp. must be absent in 25 grams sample”, Piñol said in MO 32, a copy of which was given to reporters on August 7.
“A total of 246 out of 492 container vans were sampled and subjected to laboratory analysis from March 1 to June 30 wherein samples from 18 containers [7 percent] tested positive for salmonella spp.” he added.
MO 32 formalizes the DA chief’s earlier pronouncement that he will impose a total ban on Brazilian meat imports and repeals MO 30, which imposed a temporary import ban on 25 Brazilian FMEs.
“This temporary suspension is for the protection of the Philippine consumers pursuant to Food Safety Act,” the order read.
Piñol noted that under Republic Act 10611, or the Food Safety Act of 2013, the DA is responsible for the development and enforcement of food-safety standards and regulations for food in the primary production and postharvest stages of the food-supply chain.
“[The DA] shall monitor and ensure that the relevant requirements of the law are complied with by farmers, fishermen and food business operations,” MO 32 read.
Piñol said the temporary suspension of the accreditation of all Brazilian FMEs will remain place pending the results of an investigation to be conducted by the DA.
The government has already suspended the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) import clearance for meat from Brazil and canceled the SPS import clearance of meat products that have not left Brazil.
“Shipments of meat in transit upon the issuance of this order will be allowed to enter subject to 100 percent physical and laboratory examination inspection,” MO 32 read.
The National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), an attached agency of the DA, started performing tight inspections on all beef and poultry meat imports from Brazil on March 24. This was done following media reports of the alleged “rotten” Brazilian meat in March and the submitted communication of Brazil to the World Trade Organization on March 22.
Based on the list available on the NMIS web site as of September 16, 2016, there are about 57 accredited Brazil-based FMEs allowed to export meat and meat products to the Philippines.
However, the document showed that the validity of the accreditation of all 56 FMEs in Brazil are “for revalidation”.
In 2016 Brazil exported a total of 55,581.853 metric ton (MT) of meat and meat products to the Philippines. The figure was 5.86 percent higher than the 52,505.429 MT recorded in 2015.
Beef accounted for 33.3 percent of meat purchases from Brazil. Government data showed that beef imports reached 18,524.966 metric tone (MT), 69.04 percent higher than the 2015 record of 10,959.168 MT.
More than half of the country’s meat imports from Brazil were mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of chicken. Chicken MDM imports last year reached 30,557.036 MT, 18 percent lower than the 37,314.374 MT posted in 2015.
Image credits: Diego Giudice/Bloomberg
