THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it removed the radiation analysis requirement on selected Japanese commodities for import to the Philippines.
In memorandum order no. 1, series of 2020, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said that the “certificate of radiation analysis and certificate of origin for the importation of Japanese commodities are no longer required.”
The Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) had been ordered to conduct a food safety risk assessment of radionuclide in commodities which include fish, beef, apples, and pears from Japan.
“The food safety risk assessment concludes that there is no significant food safety threat on fish, apple, pear, and beef imported from Japan,” it said.
In 2011, Japan was hit by a magnitude-9 earthquake and a tsunami, which destroyed the cooling systems at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This caused reactors to melt down and emit radiation into the air, soil, and sea.
The DA issued memorandum order no. 12, series of 2011, which requires plants, planting materials, and plant products originating from the Fukushima area to have certificate of radiation analysis. It also required certificates of origin for other imports from other prefectures.
Memorandum order no. 14, series of 2011 requires dairy products and animal feed imports not from Fukushima and Ibaraki to have a certificate of origin and a certificate of declaration. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
