DA bans poultry products from Indiana

MANILA, Philippines — A bird flu outbreak in Indiana has prompted the Department of Agriculture (DA) to restrict importation of poultry products from the US state.

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. ordered the ban after reports confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain in Indiana.

Entry of poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from Indiana is suspended until the outbreak is addressed.

Since the confirmation by the USDA’s animal and plant health inspection service on Feb. 23, multiple outbreaks of H5N1 have been recorded in Indiana.

Manila and Washington have a bilateral animal health arrangement on the issuance of a state-wide ban once three or more areas in a US state is affected by bird flu.

The DA said Indiana has breached the threshold, citing official reports submitted to the World Organization for Animal Health.

“The rapid spread of the virus across the US necessitated wider trade restrictions to shield the country’s multibillion-peso poultry industry from possible exposure,” the DA added.

With the ban, processing and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPIC) for covered products are suspended.

Laurel said that previously approved SPICs for live birds are automatically revoked.

The DA clarified that products slaughtered or produced on or before Jan. 30 can still enter the Philippines as long as the shipments were in transit, loaded or accepted at ports before the ban took effect.