ni Jasmin Joy Evangelista | March 25, 2022
Tinanggal na ng Department of Agriculture (DA) ang ban sa cattle imports mula United Kingdom, kung saan ipinatupad ito ng ahensiya noong Oktubre 2021 dahil sa outbreak ng mad cow disease sa naturang bansa.
Sa inilabas na memorandum order, ipinag-utos ni Agriculture Secretary William Dar ang pag-lift ng ban sa importation ng buhay na baka, karne, at meat products mula sa United Kingdom.
“Based on the relevant information provided by the United Kingdom, there is adequate evidence to show that the risk of importation of cattle and its related commodities is negligible,” ani Dar.
Kasunod nito, ipagpapatuloy na rin ang pagproseso, evaluation ng mga aplikasyon, pag-issue ng required sanitary at phytosanitary import clearances ng mga karne ay meat by-products ng baka, kabilang ang importation ng buhay na baka.
“All import transactions of the abovementioned commodities shall be in accordance with existing rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture,” dagdag niya.
Pansamantalang ipinagbawal ng DA ang importation ng baka mula sa United Kingdom matapos i-report ng British authorities sa World Organization for Animal Health ang outbreak ng classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) sa Somerset sa South West England noong September.
“Classical BSE is a zoonotic disease which may pose a risk to consumers due to its link with the variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans,” paliwanag ng ahensiya sa inilabas nitong memo.
Batay sa Republic Act No. 10611, o ang Food Safety Act of 2013, “in specific circumstances when the available relevant information for use in risk assessment is insufficient to show that a certain type of food or food product does not pose a risk to consumer health, precautionary measures shall be adopted.”