The temporary ban on chicken imports from Brazil stays, as the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), is awaiting a reply from that country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), particularly on the needed documents related to COVID-19 prevention and control procedures among Brazilian factory workers in chicken processing facilities.

To recall, the DA-BAI imposed a temporary ban on Brazilian poultry products after China reported that it found traces of the COVID-19 in chicken products from said South American country.

The DA-BAI cited that the rising number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Brazil that included workers at meat processing facilities.

In a recent letter to Brazil MAPA chief veterinary officer Dr. Geraldo Marcos de Moraes, DA-BAI Director Ronnie Domingo said that the Philippines is committed to resolving the issue, noting that the ban on Brazilian chicken products was issued as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and health of Filipino consumers.

“The Philippines greatly values its long-standing harmonious relations with Brazil. We look forward to your prompt response,” Domingo said in his letter to Brazil’s Moraes.

Brazil’s MAPA is requested to submit documentary requirements of the following:

• List of foreign meat establishments (FMEs) exporting to the Philippines, which reported COVID-19 cases, since March 2020;
• Copies of MAPA-issued national guidelines on the control and prevention of COVID-19 cases in meat establishments (including protocol for resumption of operations);
• MAPA procedures or protocols in monitoring COVID-19 cases in meat facilities;
• Certified copies of food safety manuals (particularly on their protocol for COVID-19) of BRF (JBS), Seara and Aurora FMEs, that are reported banned by China;
• Current rate of COVID testing on meat establishment workers; and
• Revised guidelines for the production, packaging, and storage of poultry mechanically deboned meat (MDM).

To date, Brazil has the world’s second-worst COVID-19 outbreak, reporting more than 3.2 million cases and more than 105,000 deaths, since the start of the pandemic.

Brazil currently accounts for nearly 20 percent of the country’s poultry meat imports. Others are sourced from the US and Europe. ### (DA StratComms)