QuestionsQuestions (BAI MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 05, S. 2008)
It is an administrative issuance (a memorandum order) by the Bureau of Animal Industry/Department of Agriculture, directing the lifting of a temporary ban on the importation of meat and bone meal (MBM) originating from Australia, while still requiring compliance with existing import rules and regulations.
The order lifts the temporary ban on the importation of meat and bone meal (MBM) from Australia.
It cites the OIE (Office International des Epizooties), Resolution XXI and the Terrestrial Code (Chapter 2.3.13, 13th edition, 2004), and also references a WHO/FAO/OIE technical consultation on BSE.
It states that OIE recognized Australia as BSE-free in accordance with the Terrestrial Code, and that Australia is free from BSE, scrapie, and other TSE per OIE guidelines; this supports the decision to lift the ban.
The order notes that the consultation recommended ruminant MBM should not be fed to ruminant animals and that feeding of ruminant protein to ruminants is prohibited in Australia. This is relevant because it addresses the risk pathway for TSE.
The order states that MBM and other inedible products are regulated and verified by AQIS, and processed under an Australian hygienic rendering standard that includes a ruminant feed ban, identification, traceability, integrity, and record keeping.
The order claims the standard is designed to eliminate pathogens relevant to Australia and prevent re-contamination of rendered products, thereby reducing the risk associated with MBM imports.
Controls include management/production practices at rendering premises, processing requirements, ruminant feed ban, identification, traceability, integrity, and record keeping.
It does not allow imports without conditions. It mandates that all import transactions of the listed products be in accordance with the existing rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Animal Industry.
It provides that any orders, rules, regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with its provisions are repealed or amended accordingly.
It takes effect immediately upon adoption on 04 April 2008. For importers, it implies that the lifting of the ban is operative right away, but they must still comply with existing DA/BAI import requirements.
It was adopted on 04 April 2008. For compliance, transactions after the effectivity date would be covered by the lifting of the temporary ban, subject to the existing regulatory requirements.
It serves as factual support or persuasive evidence that the product is being exported to many jurisdictions, implying operational viability and risk management under those countries’ regulations, though it does not replace Philippine regulatory requirements.
While the main operative provision lifts the ban on MBM, the rationale references other inedible products and lists categories such as meat meal, bone meal, blood meal, feather meal, poultry meal, poultry by-product meal, tallow, poultry oil, and fish meal.
It relaxes or removes a prior restriction, but does not necessarily eliminate other regulatory controls. The order still requires compliance with existing DA/BAI rules, so it is primarily a change in restriction status rather than a complete overhaul of the system.