A shipment of processed chicken meat that entered the country without sanitary and import permits was intercepted by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) – Port of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Aug. 17.

The BOC also examined the check-in baggage of Vietnamese passengers on board the carrier ship before turning over 16 kilos of the processed meat to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI). In addition, the Veterinary Quarantine Services office also issued a Notice of Violation against the importer.

District Collector Carmelita Talusan stressed that all meat and meat products must have the necessary permits and clearances from the BAI before their importation. The Port of NAIA will be more stringent in protecting the nation’s borders with the issuance of Customs Memorandum Circular 110-2022 that lists the agricultural products banned by of the Department of Agriculture, she added.

From January to July 2022, the port already confiscated 1,176.2 Kilos of meat products from passengers coming from abroad.