NAIA on high ASF alert

LOCAL pork remains free from the African Swine Fever virus now ravaging the piggery industries of 13 countries. ROMAN PROSPERO

Bureau of Customs (BoC) frontliners in the three international terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have confiscated from inbound passengers a total of 2,205 kilos of meat products this January.

The seized meat lacked the necessary documentations, including sanitary permits, from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Quarantine officers, as well as BoC personnel, had been on high alert against the entry of meat and meat products on account of the African swine fever (ASF) noted in at least 13 countries.

The ASF is a severe viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs. It can be spread by live swine or their meat or even through contaminated feed and non-living objects like shoes, knives, clothes and vehicles.

It has high environmental resistance thus can survive long journeys overseas. The virus causes big economic losses although it is not yet transmittable to humans.

Early this month, the Department of Agriculture relieved BAI quarantine personnel at the NAIA for deficiencies found in their meat inspection protocol, including their failure to establish foot baths in their inspection areas.

In guarding against the ASF entering the Philippines and ravaging its own meat supply industry, the BoC had issued a public appeal against the bringing of meat products.

The 13 countries already grappling with the ASF outbreak are China, Hungary, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa and Zambia.

Prior to the ASF outbreak, BoC-NAIA confiscated 5,302 kilos of meat from arriving passengers for lacking FDA and BAI clearances.