Piñol orders ban on pork from Japan due to swine fever reports

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol (INQUIRER.net file photo)

MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol has ordered a temporary ban on pork and pork products coming from Japan following reports of African swine fever (ASF) in that country.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Piñol said he had alerted the Bureau of Animal Industry “to immediately impose a ban on the entry of pork and other pork products from Japan following reports of its spread in that country.”

Piñol also said that he would issue a formal directive that would be in effect while quarantine officials validate the reports with the World Animal Health Organization.

He also directed all quarantine officers assigned in all of the ports of entry to implement the ban immediately.

Piñol also advised quarantine officers to review their quarantine protocols, which includes the “foot baths installed at the [ports of entry] and the monitoring of all meat products being brought into the country by tourists.”

He cited an article from The Japan News which reported seven confirmed cases of ASF in Japan from October 2018 to January 2019.

The article said that, because ASF was “increasingly likely to spread throughout Japan,” its agriculture ministry had to strengthen quarantine efforts at airports and ports.

In the Philippines, the Department of Agriculture has imposed a ban on pork and pork products from China, Hungary, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, Zambia and Russia due to unresolved cases of ASF. /atm

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