AMENDED RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE IMPORTATION OF MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS INTO THE PHILIPPINES

WHEREAS, disease outbreaks (e.g., Foot and Mouth Disease, Mad Cow
Disease, Avian Influenza, among others), and chemical and microbial
contamination (e.g. dioxin etc.) have occurred in a number of meat
exporting countries;

WHEREAS, there is a need to prevent the entry of disease-carrying,
contaminated, and/or adulterated meat and/or meat products, which
endanger the lives and safety/health of the consuming public and which
could lead to potentially serious economic consequences to the
livestock, poultry and related industries;

WHEREAS, there is a need to consolidate and strengthen existing
rules and regulations governing meat importation to make them
comprehensive, clear/transparent and ensure the safety and quality of
imported meat and/or meat products; and

WHEREAS, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) reaffirms the
right of a country to institute appropriate measures it deems necessary.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, EDGARDO J. ANGARA, Secretary of the Department of
Agriculture, in accordance with Chapter 7 of the Agriculture and
Fisheries Modernization Act of 1999 (Product Standardization and
Consumer Safety); Republic Act No. 7394 (Consumer Act of the Philippines
1992); and Section 18, Chapter 4, Title IV, Book IV of Executive Order
No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987), do hereby issue this Order
governing the importation of meat and meat products:

SECTION I
Definition of Terms

As contemplated in this Order, the following terms, words and phrases herein used shall be construed to mean as follows:

A.        Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX)
— refers to the international organization recognized by the WTO as the
responsible body for establishing food standards, codes of practice,
guidelines and recommendations aimed at protecting consumer health and
ensuring fair food trade practices. CODEX also refers to food standards
and related texts elaborated and adopted by the Commission, which is
recognized by the WTO as benchmark standards in relation to food quality
and safety.

B.        Country of Origin — refers to the
country source of meat and/or meat products being exported. When a
product undergoes processing in another country which changes its
nature, the country in which processing is performed shall be considered
to be the country of origin for purposes of labeling. Conversely, when
such product undergoes only minimal processing/physical change (i.e.,
re-packing, re-branding) in another country, the country of origin
refers to the source of the original product.

C.        Claim — refers to any representation,
which states, suggests or implies that a product has particular
qualities relating to its origin, nutritional properties, nature,
processing, composition or any other quality.

D.        Date of Expiration — refers to the
earliest date at which safety and/or acceptability of a product can no
longer be assured, based on CODEX or other internationally accepted
standards, or as determined by the manufacturer or the appropriate
government authority.

E.        Date of Minimum Durability (“best before”)
— refers to the earliest date (under specified conditions) beyond which
a product is no longer fully marketable and cannot meet the quality
required by the importer or government authorities in the importing
country as determined from CODEX or other internationally accepted
standards, or for which claims have been made by the manufacturer or the
government authority of the exporting country.

F.         Foreign Meat Establishment (FME) —
refers to an establishment, company or juridical/legal entity engaged in
slaughtering/dressing of food animals, meat
processing/packing/manufacturing, and/or meat trading/exporting, among
others.

G.        Imported Meat Inspection Clearance (IMIC)
— refers to the clearance issued by the National Meat Inspection
Commission (NMIC) to an importer/consignee providing the basis for the
latter’s utilization or disposition of the imported meat and/or meat
products.

H.        International Veterinary Certificate (IVC)
— refers to the certificate issued by the Veterinary Administration at
the country of origin attesting that, among others, the goods conform to
the veterinary/SPS requirements of the Philippines as prescribed in the
Veterinary Quarantine Clearance issued by the Department of Agriculture
(DA).

I.          Lot Identification — refers to the
name and identity number of the plant/factory and the serial identity
number of the specified quantity of commodity produced from this
plant/factory essentially subjected to the same production conditions.

J.         Meat — refers to the fresh, chilled
or frozen edible part of carcass, including offal derived from but not
limited to cattle, buffalo, pig, poultry, goat, sheep, and horse but
excluding marine animals and prohibited animals under the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES).

K.        Meat Products — refers to meat, which
has been subjected to physical change and/or treatment by cooking,
drying, salting, brining or smoking.

L.         Office Internationale des Epizootics (OIE)
— refers to the international organization recognized by the WTO as the
responsible body for establishing the animal veterinary health
standards, guidelines and recommendations.

M.        Qualified Importer — refers to a
person, company or juridical/legal entity accredited by the DA as meat
processor/manufacture/re-packer, meat trader and other meat
establishments.

N.        Qualified Exporter — refers to a FME
recognized by the Veterinary Administration of country source as
exporting entity and accredited by the DA. Only those “meat-trading”
firms sourcing from DA accredited FMEs are considered qualified
exporters.

O.        Veterinary Administration — refers to
the National Veterinary Service having authority over the whole country
for implementing the animal health measures and international
veterinary certification process (based on OIE Animal Health Code).

P.        Veterinary Quarantine Clearance (VQC)/SPS Import Permit
— refers to the clearance issued by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI)
to the importer/consignee, setting the Philippine SPS/quarantine
requirements that imported meat and/or meat products should be subject
to.

Q.        Veterinary Quarantine Inspection Certificate (VQIC)
— refers to the certificate issued by the DA Veterinary Quarantine
Office (DAVQO) to the importer/consignee, which certifies that the goods
have been subjected to quarantine inspection and clearance. The VQIC
provides the basis for the NMIC to initiate its inspection and
laboratory analysis upon the release of the goods by the Bureau of
Customs (BOC).

SECTION II
Scope

Only meat and meat products referred to in ANNEX “A” as defined in Section 1 (J) and (K) are covered by this Order.

SECTION III
Application For VQC/SPS Import Permit

A.        A qualified importer as defined in Section I (M) who
intends to import meat and/or meat products must first secure a VQC/SPS
Import Permit from the DA prior to the shipment of goods from the
country of origin. The importer shall:

1.      submit a duly accomplished Application Form to Import (ANNEX “B”) together with the pro-forma invoice; and

2.      pay the necessary fee to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

B.        The BAI, in consultation with the NMIC, as needed, shall
evaluate the VQC application and shall approve/disapprove the same
within 7 working days from receipt of complete application documents.
The approved VQC shall contain the BAI seal and the signature of the
Secretary or the BAI Director (upon the Secretary’s designation).

C.        The BAI shall issue a VQC per shipment of meat and/or meat products.

D.        The VQC’s validity shall be based on the following
geographical locations (countries/regions) where the meat and/or meat
products shall be sourced:

Source	VQC’s Validity
1.         Asia, Australia, and New Zealand	30-60 days
2.         North and South America, Europe and Africa	60-90 days

E.        The importer can request for a 15 to 30-day extension
for its VQC from the BAI provided the shipment is in transit during the
VQC’s validity period. The BAI shall issue such extension within 24
hours upon:

1.         receipt from the importer (applicant) of a formal request with the original VQC previously issued; and

2.         payment of the necessary extension fee.

SECTION IV
Exporting Country Requirements

A.        Only DA accredited FMEs recognized as an exporting
entity by the Veterinary Administration of the exporting country are
allowed to export into the Philippines.

B.        A qualified exporter must first secure a copy of the
approved VQC/SPS Import Permit from the importer/consignee prior to the
shipment of meat and/or meat products into the Philippines.

C.        The exporter shall comply with the following packing and labeling requirements:

1.      All packing materials and containers in direct contact
with the meat and/or meat products must be of food grade quality.

2.      The packaging must meet the minimum relevant labeling
requirement as defined in Article 77, Chapter IV of the Consumer Act of
the Philippines and the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) AO No. 88-B,
Series of 1984 (Rules and Regulations Governing the Labeling of
Pre-Packaged Food Products). The label on each box of the shipment of
imported meat and/or meat products shall contain the following, as
appropriate, which must be written in English of Filipino [each
character of the text should not be less than 2.5 mm (for pre-printed or
stamped) and 5 mm (for stenciled or hand painted)]:

a)    Correct and registered trade name or brand name;
b)    Business name and address of the exporter;
c)    Country of origin;
d)    Lot identification;
e)    Product description and list of ingredients;
f)     Net quantity of contents, in terms of weight, measure or
numerical count rounded to the nearest tenths (expressed in METRIC
SYSTEM);
g)    Date of manufacture and packaging;
h)    Date of minimum durability (“best before”) or expiration date;
i)     Handling and storage instructions; and
j)     Business name and address of the importer.

D.        The Veterinary Administration of the exporting country
shall issue an IVC for a specific shipment of meat and/or meat products.
The IVC shall contain the minimum information stipulated in the OIE
model health certificate and shall bear/contain, among others, the seal
of the issuing agency.

E.        A qualified exporter shall only ship into the Philippines:

1.      Fresh/chilled or frozen meat or meat products at the
earliest date prior to its “date of minimum durability”/expiration date;
and

2.      Canned meat products not later than one (1) year prior to its “date of minimum durability”/expiration.

F.         The exporter shall ensure that the date of shipment of
goods (as reflected in the bill of lading/airway bill) is not earlier
than the date of the issuance of VQC.

SECTION V
Release Procedures

A.        At least three (3) days prior to the expected arrival of
the shipment, the importer shall inform the DAVQO at the port of entry
by submitting the accomplished Notice of Arrival Form attached to the
VQC.

B.        The shipment shall be accompanied by an IVC
(written/translated in English) issued by the Veterinary Administration
at the country of origin.

C.        The shipment shall only be released by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) upon accomplishment of the following:

1.      Presentation of the importer of the VQC (original), Bill
of Lading/Airway Bill, and Packing List to the DAVQO for verification
and evaluation;

2.      Initiation and completion of the mandatory veterinary
quarantine inspection done by random sampling and/or documentation and
clearance;

3.      Payment of veterinary quarantine inspection fee;

4.      Resealing (BAI seal) of the container van/s with the goods inspected; and

5.      Issuance of a VQIC and stamped “Inspected and Passed”
mark on the original copies of the BOC import documents/entries from the
initiation of the quarantine inspection.

D.        The DAVQO shall provide the NMIC of the copy of the VQIC
within 24 hours from the time the goods are cleared. The consignee
shall notify the NMIC (by submitting the accomplished Request for Meat
Inspection and Laboratory Analysis attached to the VQC) upon release of
the goods by the BOC and delivery of the same to the importer’s cold
storage/warehouse/processing plant.

E.        The NMIC shall:

1.      Initiate meat inspection by random sampling within 48
hours. In no case shall the importer break the BAI seal and/or unload
the goods from the container van/s in the absence of a NMIC inspector.

2.      Subject the goods to microbial and chemical analyses to determine whether these conform to Philippine requirements.

3.      Issue an Imported Meat Inspection Clearance (IMIC) to
the consignee (within 3 working days from the date of initiation of meat
inspection) upon payment of the NMIC inspection fee. If laboratory
result is not yet available within 3 days, an IMIC will still be issued
to state that the subject goods will be subject to surveillance and
mandatory recall should the result proves that the goods are
unfit/unsafe for human consumption.

SECTION VI
Confiscation And Disposition

A.        Imported meat and meat products shall be confiscated if any of the following exists:

1.      The goods lack authentic VQC/SPS Import Permit and/or IVC;

2.      The information on the IVC does not match/address the
requirements/information stipulated in the VQC e.g., SPS conditions,
among other irregularities;

3.      The volume/quantity of goods imported exceeds the volume indicated in the approved VQC and IVC;

4.      The goods lack appropriate labeling and packing requirements referred to in Section IV; and

5.      Part of or the entire shipment is unloaded from the
container van/s in the absence of a NMIC inspector, as evidenced by a
tampered BAI seal, and/or evidence of alteration, usage, or
distribution.

B.        Imported meat and/or meat products confiscated in view
of Section VI (A) above shall be subject to BOC’s rules and regulations
on disposition of confiscated products and to DA quarantine and quality
inspection system.

C.        Imported goods found to pose a risk to consumer safety
or animal health/life shall be disposed of in accordance with Section VI
(D) and (E) below.

D.        Imported meat and meat products shall be confiscated
under any of the following circumstances and shall either be destroyed
or returned/re-exported:

1.      Goods are sourced from a country/zone from which importation is banned in view of disease outbreak or contamination;

2.      The goods are found to be infected by any OIE lists A and B disease and/or carrying any disease-causing organism.

3.      The goods contain any toxic or deleterious substance, which may render them injurious to health;

4.      The goods contain any added toxic or deleterious
substance other than (a) allowed pesticides, (b) food additives, and (c)
color additives (d) contaminants at levels beyond the
prescribed/established tolerances;

5.      The goods have been prepared, packed or held under
unsanitary conditions in which they may have been contaminated with
filth or rendered injurious to health;

6.      The goods consist, in whole or part, of any filthy;
putrid, rotten, decomposed substance or foreign matter, or otherwise
unfit for human consumption;

7.      The container or packaging materials in direct contact
with the goods are found to be composed of, in whole or part, of any
poisonous or deleterious substance, which render the contents injurious
to health; and

8.      The goods imported have arrived beyond the “date of minimum durability”/expiration date prescribed in Section IV (E).

E.        The importer/consignee shall bear the expenses to be
incurred in the confiscation and disposition of the goods in view of
Section VI (C & D) above. These expenses include among others
destruction, storage, cartage, and labor. Failure of the consignee to
pay the said expenses shall constitute a lien against any future
importation.

SECTION VII
Penalty Provisions

Violators of the provisions of this Order shall be penalized in
accordance with Article 19 (Penalty), Chapter I, Title II, of Republic
Act No. 7394 otherwise known as the Consumer Act of the Philippines
issued dated 13 April 1992.

SECTION VIII
Transitory Provisions

A.        All existing commercial importers and exporters shall be
considered accredited for a year from the effectivity of this AO.

B.        Within the abovementioned period, all existing importers and exporters shall be subject to review and assessment.

SECTION IX
Repealing Clause

All existing rules and regulations, which are inconsistent with
this Order are hereby modified, revoked or repealed. This AO repeals DA
Administrative Order No. 16, issued on 27 April 2000.

SECTION X
Separability Clause

The provisions of this Order are hereby declared to be separable,
and in the event one or more of such provisions are held
unconstitutional, the validity of the other provisions shall not be
affected thereby.

SECTION XI
Effectivity

This Order shall take effect thirty (30) days after its
publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. This
Order shall be subject to an annual review as may be necessary.

Adopted: 4 October 2000

(SGD.) EDGARDO J. ANGARA
Secretary

ANNEX A

List of Meat and Meat Products Referred to in Section II of DA AO No. 39, Series of 2000

HDG Number [*]	Description
02.01	Meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled
02.02	Meat or bovine animals, frozen
02.03	Meat of swine, fresh, chilled or frozen
02.04	Meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen
02.05	Meat of horses, asses, mules or hinnies, fresh, chilled or frozen
02.06	Edible offal of bovine animals, swine, sheep, goats, horses, asses, mules or hinnies, fresh, chilled or frozen
02.07	Meat and edible offal, of poultry of heading no. 01.05, fresh, chilled or frozen
02.08	Other meat and edible meat offal, fresh, chilled or frozen
02.09	Pig fat, free of lean meat, and poultry fat, not rendered or otherwise extracted, fresh, chilled or frozen
02.10	Meat and edible meat offal, salted in brine, dried or smoked, edible flours and meals of meat or meat offal
15.02	Fat of bovine animals, sheep and goats other those of heading no.15.03 (not processed)
16.01	Sausages and similar products; of meat, meat offal or blood; food preparations based on these
16.02	Other prepared or preserved meat, meat offal or blood

 

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^[*]Based on the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System, Tariff and Customs Code of the
Philippines (TCCP) issued in April 1999.