Two Indian exporters of buffalo meat to the Philippines had their accreditation suspended, following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) where they are located.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol suspended the accreditation of ALM Food Products Ltd. and Mirha Exports Pvt. Ltd. The two exporters are based in Punjab, India, where FMD outbreaks occurred in September of last year.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) requested for an update on the FMD situation in the affected areas in November of last year, but has yet to receive an official response one year after. The European Union Reference Laboratory for FMD also reported an outbreak in zoo animals in Punjab in February.
As a resolve, Piñol temporarily banned Indian buffalo meat exports from Punjab, particularly from ALM and Mirha Exports, through Memorandum Order 36. He also directed the immediate suspension of the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) import clearance to the commodity.
Moreover, the memorandum moved for the intensified inspection of documents and shipments of all meat products from India. DA’s veterinary quarantine officers are instructed to accomplish this task at the ports of entry.
The memorandum added more rigorous and tight inspection on all arrivals of Indian buffalo meat products from India by DA’s National Meat Inspection Service plant officers assigned at the DA accredited cold storage warehouses is needed.
Piñol said “there is a need to prevent the entry of FMD-susceptible products originating from Punjab, India, to protect the health of the local livestock population.”