THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has suspended two importers of Indian buffalo meat — Alm Food Products Ltd. and Mirha Exports PVT Ltd — due to outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in India’s Punjab state.
According to the memorandum order, the government aims to block the entry of FMD-susceptible products from Punjab to safeguard Philippine livestock.
The DA said asked India in November 2017 for an update on the FMD situation in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, and Telengana, but has not received a reply from India’s chief veterinary officer.
The outbreak was first reported in September 2017.
The order also suspends immediately the processing and evaluation of applications and issuances of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) import clearances for buffalo meat.
The DA has active bans on items that might be affected by African Swine Fever, bird flu and Newcastle disease. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
