By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:17am (Mla time) 05/06/2008
MANILA, Philippines-- The Department of Agriculture has lifted the ban on importation of meat and bone meal (MBM) feed from Australia.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap recently issued the directive after the Paris-based Office International des Epizooties (OIE) recognized Australia as free of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
BSE, or mad cow disease, is a transmissible and fatal brain ailment afflicting cattle.
Yap said the steps taken by Australian food and health authorities in ensuring the safety of their MBM exports had proven to be satisfactory.
He said MBM feed and other products are regulated and verified by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.
These products are also processed under the Australian Standard for Hygienic Rendering of Animal Products prior to their export.
“The Australian Standard used in Australian MBM, meat meal, bone meal, blood meal, feather meal, poultry meal, poultry by-product meal, tallow, poultry oil and fish meal production is designed to eliminate pathogens relevant to Australia and prevent recontamination of processed rendered products,” Yap said.
Australia exports MBM to Indonesia, Canada, the United States, European Union, Malaysia, South Africa, China, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Philippines had imposed the ban on fears that BSE could be the cause of a new variant of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a brain-wasting illness afflicting humans.
In his directive, Yap said cattle meat and MBM should still not be fed to ruminants, such as cattle, sheep, deer and goats.
This move was recommended during a joint meeting of the OIE, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization in 2001.
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