5 hours ago
2
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted its six-year ban on the importation of processed pork products from South Korea following a scientific validation of its safety protocols against the African swine fever (ASF).
Under Memorandum Order (MO) No. 23, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel authorized entry of Korean pork items into the country, provided that these are subject to high-level heat treatment.
Based on the order, Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs requested to the DA to consider the lifting of the ban “in view of relevant scientific literature.”
The Korean agency said studies attested that the ASF is deactivated by the process used to produced processed pork products.
The original restriction, imposed in 2019 under DA Memorandum Order No. 26, aimed to protect local livestock amid the ASF outbreak.
In lifting the ban, the DA conducted an import risk analysis (IRA) to confirm that Korean processed products intended for exports meets the standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health standards (WOAH).
The IRA noted South Korea's robust veterinary oversight and ASF control systems, which is critical to gauge the shelf-stability and packaging of the imported products.
With assurances as a “safe commodity,” processed pork products from South Korea are permitted for import in accordance with existing Philippine regulations.
In particular, the products should be heat-treated in hermetically sealed containers with an F0 value of three or more—which means the thermal lethality time required to eliminate all microorganisms.
The other process is being heated for 30 minutes at a minimum of 70 degrees Celsius.
“With this policy shift, more pork products are anticipated to be available to consumers in the Philippines,” said Laurel.
“It may also indicate a potential thaw in agri-trade relations between the two countries,” he added.
In another directive, under MO No. 22, the DA also lifted the temporary ban on the importation of poultry products from Minnesota in the United States (US).
The original ban was imposed early this year—covering domestic and wild birds and their products including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen—due to the spread of bird flu in the state.
US veterinary authorities has since reported that all cases of High Pathogenicity Avian
Influenza (HPAI) in all affected counties of Minnesota have ended, with no additional outbreaks after Feb. 28.
The DA moved to lift the ban as trade restrictions shall be imposed if there are three or more counties affected by HPAI, in recognition of the HPAI regionalization arrangement.
