A ban on poultry products from Japan has been lifted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) of the Philippines, nearly one year after the country temporarily halted the import of Japanese poultry.
Philippine Agriculture Secretary Secretary Proceso J. Alcala ordered the lifting of the ban, announcing that “the risk of contamination from importing poultry and poultry products from Japan is negligible.”
This follows an evaluation by the Bureau of Animal Industry, which cited the resolution of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) event as reported by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture.
The lifting of the ban covers domestic and wild birds -- including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen originating from Japan, according to a report published by Business World.
In April 2014, the DA banned the entry of the poultry products following the outbreak of HPAI virus in parts of Japan. The outbreak was detected in a poultry broiler farm and was confirmed by the central laboratory.
Other import bans on poultry products are still in effect in the Philippines, covering portions of the United States, Taiwan’s Chiayi County and Israel.
The lifting of the ban also comes at a time where a ban that Japan had imposed on poultry from the Philippines is being lifted. That ban was in place for about ten years, also because of concerns about the possible spread of avian influenza.
