Meat Inspection Code - Meat Safety and Regulation

Policy, principles, and objectives

The State must promulgate policies and procedures governing the flow of food animals, meat, and meat products through all stages of marketing, and must require proper preservation and inspection (Section 2).
The State must ensure food security and provide safety and quality standards to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury and hazards to health (Section 2).
The State must support local government units in becoming self-reliant while continuing powers and functions already vested in them (Section 2).
The State must strengthen and harmonize issuances on meat establishment operations and meat inspection, while creating a favorable investment climate for world-class meat establishments (Section 2).
The State must promote risk analysis using accepted scientific methodology to assure a safe and wholesome meat supply (Section 2).
The State must support livestock and poultry industry development and promote animal health by preventing entry of disease-carrying animals and by surveillance of zoonotic and reportable diseases in meat establishments (Section 2).
The State must strengthen existing rules on meat importation so they become comprehensive, clear, transparent, and focused on inspection and documentation to assure safety and quality (Section 2).
The law protects human and animal health against direct and indirect hazards, particularly protecting consumers, meat handlers, livestock, and the meat processing industry from zoonotic diseases, meat-borne infection, intoxication, residues, infections, economic losses, and other hazards identified in Section 3.
The law requires protection consistent with detectable hazards at meat inspection and with relevant animal health regulations (Section 3).

Core definitions and meaning

The law defines “Accredit” as the NMIS’s power to grant authority to (a) meat establishments for slaughtering, preparation, processing, manufacturing, storing, or canning for commerce; (b) importers, exporters, brokers, traders, or meat handlers; (c) meat vehicles or conveyances; and (d) persons and independent or third-party service providers or independent inspection/audit agencies performing government services (Section 4).
The law defines “Adulterated” broadly to cover meat or meat products that contain poisonous or deleterious substances, certain added deleterious substances beyond established tolerances, filthy/putrid/decomposed content, unsafe preparation/packing/holding, products of diseased animals or animals dead other than by slaughter, unlawful container composition, unauthorized radiation, omitted or abstracted valuable constituents, concealment or substitution affecting bulk/weight/quality/value, failure to follow current acceptable manufacturing practice promulgated by the Secretary, or products passed their expiry date (Section 4).
The law defines “Board” as the Meat Inspection Board under Section 6 (Section 4).
The law defines “Carcass” as the body of any slaughtered animal after bleeding and dressing (Section 4).
The law defines “Meat” as fresh, chilled, or frozen edible carcass including offal derived from food animals (Section 4).
The law defines “Food Animal” to include domestic animals slaughtered for human consumption, including but not limited to cattle, carabaos, buffaloes; horses, sheep, goats, hogs, deer; rabbits, ostrich, and poultry (Section 4).
The law defines “Inspection” as official acts ensuring compliance with rules including humane handling, ante- and post-mortem inspection, and quality and residue-control systems and programs listed in Section 4 (Section 4).
The law defines “Risk Analysis” as a process consisting of three (3) components: risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication—essential to determine acceptable levels of risk and implement decisions (Section 4).
The law defines “Sale and Wholesome” by criteria that include absence of food-borne infection/intoxication when properly handled, absence of residue beyond set limits, no obvious contamination, no objectionable defects recognized by consumers, production under adequate hygiene control, and absence of treatment with illegal substances under the Act and related national legislation (Section 4).
The law defines other key terms used throughout, including “Abattoir or Slaughterhouse,” “Board,” “Canning,” “Controlling Authority,” “Deputation,” “Disease or Defect,” “Fit for Human Consumption,” “Fresh Meat,” “Inspect/Passed/Condemned,” “Inspector,” “Label,” “Meat Broker,” “Meat Establishment,” “Meat Inspection System,” “Meat Product,” “Misbranded,” “Official Certificate,” “Official Device,” “Port of Inspection,” “Prepared,” “Processed,” “Residue,” “Secretary,” “Veterinary Inspector or Meat Control Officer,” and “Commerce.” (Section 4)

NMIS structure and inspection authority

The National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) serves as the sole national controlling authority on meat and meat product inspection and meat hygiene (Section 5).
The NMIS is a specialized regulatory service attached to the Department of Agriculture (Section 5).
A Meat Inspection Board is created under the NMIS to assist in formulation of policies and guidelines and to advise the chairperson on meat inspection and hygiene (Section 6).
The Board is composed of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (as chairperson), NMIS Executive Director, Bureau of Animal Industry Director, Bureau of Food and Drugs Executive Director, Bureau of Local Government Development Director, a representative from a consumer organization recommended by the National Consumer Affairs Council, and the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards Director (Section 6).
The NMIS is headed by an Executive Director, and the administrative, technical, and support services must be strengthened as appropriated and necessary (Section 7).
The NMIS must formulate, issue, and implement national policies, guidelines, rules, regulations, and programs with appropriate local government units (Section 8).
The NMIS must supervise and control meat inspection in all meat establishments engaged in domestic and international trade (Section 8).
The NMIS must evaluate, classify, and accredit local and foreign meat establishments for compliance to hygiene and sanitation standards (Section 8).

Local government regulation and devolved centers

Local government units regulate slaughterhouse construction, management and operation; meat inspection; meat transport and post-abattoir control; monitor and evaluate; and collect fees and charges consistent with national policies, guidelines, rules, regulations, and quality/safety standards promulgated by the Secretary (Section 10).
Local government units exercise full and complete authority over the activities mentioned and implement duly prescribed national meat standards within their territorial jurisdiction (Section 11).
Ante- and post-mortem fee collection shares under the Local Government Code and Executive Order No. 137 are retained for local government units (Section 11).
A 20% portion of amounts collected from fees, fines, and other charges by the NMIS under Sections 46 and 56 for enforcement and implementation of national meat standards must inure to local government units, except for a reasonable fee for services rendered; it accrues to local government units “at source” (Section 11).
The law requires local government units to endeavor to improve meat facilities to comply with national standards, and provides national government allocation of incentive funds equivalent to funds available from local government units (Section 12).
Regional NMIS offices are scaled down and transformed into meat laboratories and technical operation centers staffed by a minimum number of medical/technical personnel qualified as determined by the Secretary (Section 9).
Within two (2) years from effectivity, functions of these centers are transferred or devolved to the provincial government where the offices are located, subject to certification of compliance with national standards; certification for international trade remains with the NMIS (Section 9).

Scope, inspection officers, and humane handling

The Code applies to all meat establishments where food animals are slaughtered, prepared, processed, handled, packed, or stored, or sold (Section 13).
All slaughterhouses and poultry dressing plants must ensure adequate protection and welfare of food animals while awaiting slaughter to avoid mishandling and avoid unnecessary pain or distress during slaughter (Section 13).
Only meat control officers, deputized meat control officers, meat inspectors, and deputized meat inspectors duly appointed and designated by the NMIS or local government units are authorized to conduct meat inspection work (Section 14).
All persons employed in meat inspection work must undergo training conducted by the NMIS (Section 14).
The NMIS must ensure and enforce that meat establishments operate in accordance with hygienic requirements (Section 15).
Meat establishment management/operators must follow NMIS instructions on humane slaughter, hygienic, and inspection requirements and must provide reasonable information and assistance requested by NMIS or local government unit (Section 16).
An ante-mortem inspection of food animals is required before slaughter in any city, municipal, or licensed private abattoir where the meat or meat products will be sold (Section 17).

Ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection rules

During ante-mortem inspection, any animal manifesting disease or condition requires outright condemnation; the animal must be marked “CONDEMNED,” isolated immediately, and disposed of under the supervision of an inspector (Section 18).
Inspectors must examine and inspect the method by which food animals are slaughtered and handled to prevent inhumane slaughter under Republic Act No. 8485 (Section 19).
The Secretary may refuse inspection to a new slaughtering meat establishment or temporarily suspend inspection if food animals are slaughtered/handled using methods not humane under the Animal Welfare Act until satisfactory assurance is furnished that slaughtering/handling will comply (Section 20).
Inspectors must conduct post-mortem examination and inspection of carcasses and parts for all food animals prepared at any establishment for commerce and capable of use as human food (Section 21).
Carcasses and parts found not to be adulterated must be marked, stamped, tagged, or labeled “Inspected and Passed” (Section 22).
Carcasses and parts found adulterated must be labeled, marked, stamped, or tagged “Inspected and Condemned,” and must be destroyed for food purposes by the establishment in the presence of an inspector (Section 22).
Inspectors must re-inspect when necessary to determine whether meat becomes adulterated after first inspection; if adulterated on subsequent inspection, the establishment must destroy the carcasses/parts for food purposes in the presence of an inspector (Section 23).
The inspection requirements apply to carcasses/parts entering meat processing, meat canning, packing, or similar establishments and must be done before treatment, processing, or preparation (Section 24).
The Secretary may limit entry of carcasses, parts, meat, meat products, and other materials into any meat establishment under conditions ensuring consistency with the Act’s purpose (Section 25).
Inspectors have access at all times, day or night, whether the establishment is operating or not, to every part of the establishment to examine and inspect all meat and meat products prepared for commerce in enumerated types of establishments (Section 26).
Inspectors must mark products as “Inspected and Passed” or “Inspected and Condemned”; condemned meat products must be destroyed for food purposes.
The Preservatives provisions do not apply to meat products for export to any foreign country when prepared/packed according to specifications or directions of the foreign purchaser, and when no substance is used in preparation/packing conflicting with the laws of the foreign country (Section 27).
No veterinary quarantine clearance is granted by the National Veterinary Quarantine Service for any vessel exporting meat and meat products unless the owner/shipper obtains from NMIS a certificate that the food animal is free from dangerous and communicable diseases at inspection and that the meat is safe and wholesome (Section 28).
The Secretary may waive the NMIS certificate requirements in favor of the country to which exported meat and meat products will go (Section 28).
Veterinary inspectors issue official certificates of the condition of food animals, carcasses, and products; one copy is filed with NMIS, one copy is given to owner/shipper, and a third copy attaches to the veterinary quarantine clearance when sent abroad (Section 29).
No person, firm, or corporation may sell, transport, offer for sale/transportation, or receive for transportation in commerce any carcasses or meat/meat products unless they are plainly and conspicuously marked/labeled/identified as required by Secretary regulations to show kind of animals from which derived (Section 30).
Carcasses/parts sold, transported, distributed, offered for distribution, or received for distribution in commerce that lacked ante-mortem inspection are subject to seizure, confiscation, condemnation, or disposal; if found fit for human use upon examination, disposition follows implementing rules (Section 31).

Imported meat: accreditation, analysis, confiscation

After imported products are approved for release by the National Veterinary Quarantine Service at ports of entry, NMIS conducts examination and, when necessary, laboratory analysis of imported meat and meat products (Section 32).
Inspectors must seize, recall, confiscate, condemn, or dispose by destruction or re-export at importer expense any imported carcass/meat/products found during inspection and laboratory analysis to be filthy, contaminated, adulterated, or misbranded (Section 33).
Meat exporters must secure accreditation of foreign meat establishments at source from the Department of Agriculture before shipping into the Philippines; an audit/inspection is conducted for compliance with Philippine and internationally recognized standards (Section 34).
Meat exporters must comply with all other Philippine import requirements prior to shipment (Section 35).
Imported meat and meat products are refused entry if they do not meet Philippine import requirements.
Refused-entry items must be re-exported to country of origin or destroyed at importer/owner expense to protect public health and the local animal population (Section 36).

Labeling, marks, and official controls

Any meat or meat product prepared for commerce that is “Inspected and Passed” must be placed/packed in containers in an establishment where inspection under the Act is maintained, and a label must be attached under inspector supervision stating that contents have been “Inspected and Passed” (Section 37).
No examination and inspection is complete for meat/meat products deposited/enclosed in containers in inspection establishments until the products are sealed or enclosed under inspector supervision (Section 38).
All carcasses, parts, meat, and meat products inspected and found not adulterated must bear, at the time they leave the establishment, distinctly legible information directly on their containers in the manner required by the Act (Section 39).
The Secretary may prescribe labeling styles and sizes/type for materials to avoid false or misleading labeling and may prescribe definitions/standards of identity/composition and standards of fill/container consistent with any such standards required by receiving countries (Section 40).
No article may be sold or offered for sale in commerce under a name for marking/labeling that is false or misleading, or in a misleading form/size container; approved trade names/marking/containers not false or misleading are permitted (Section 41).
If the Secretary has reason to believe labeling/marking or container size/form is false or misleading, the Secretary may direct withholding of use unless modified as prescribed to avoid falsity/misleading effects (Section 42).
No brand manufacturer, printer, or other person/entity may cast, print, lithograph, or otherwise make any device containing any official mark or simulation, any label bearing such mark/simulation, or any form of official certificate or simulation, except as authorized by the Secretary (Section 49).
It is prohibited to forge any official device/mark/certificate; to use official device/mark/certificate or simulation; to alter/detach/deface/destroy official devices/marks/certificates; to fail to use or detach/deface/destroy contrary to Secretary regulations; to knowingly possess counterfeit/simulated/forged/improperly altered official certificates, devices, labels, or carcasses/parts/products bearing such marks; to knowingly make false statements in a certificate; or to knowingly represent an article was inspected and passed when it was not (Section 50).

Sanitation, quality standards, and consumer info

The Secretary must require sanitation inspections by experts/inspectors to gather information on prevailing sanitary conditions and prescribe rules under which meat establishments must operate and maintain sanitation (Section 43).
Meat and meat products from establishments operated under sanitary conditions that render them adulterated cannot be labeled or marked “Inspected and Passed” (Section 43).
The Secretary must adopt internationally recognized standards, recommendations, procedures, or guidelines by regulation to further ensure meat and meat product quality and safety (Section 44).
NMIS must provide information and assistance to the consuming public on proper handling, preparation, storing, processing, and preservation of meat and meat products and may seek assistance from industry and the private sector (Section 45).

Fees, trust fund, and administrative fines

The Secretary must prescribe reasonable fees for services rendered by regulation after public hearing; amounts collected from fees, fines, and other charges collected by NMIS must be deposited with the National Treasury and accrue to the General Fund (Section 46).
A separate Meat Inspection Service Development Trust Fund is established and administered by the Meat Inspection Board (Section 47).
Not less than 50% of amounts accrued from fees, fines, and charges for the first five (5) years must be used for the trust fund’s purposes, including upgrading laboratory equipment and facilities to conform with international standards, training facilities, capability development of condemned animals during ante-mortem inspection, accreditation of foreign meat plants, and other livestock-sector assistance and support (Section 47).
The trust fund may accept grants and donations from national and foreign entities and individuals interested in meat inspection development (Section 47).
The Secretary must issue a schedule of administrative fines by regulation for violations of any provision of the Act (Section 56).

Prohibitions and enforcement measures

It is prohibited to slaughter any food animal or prepare meat or meat product in a meat establishment except in compliance with the Act (Section 48(a)).
It is prohibited to slaughter or handle food animals connected with slaughter in a manner not humane (Section 48(b)).
It is prohibited to sell, transport, offer, or receive for sale/transportation in commerce carcasses, parts, meat, or meat products required to be inspected unless they have been inspected and passed (Section 48(c)).
It is prohibited to do any act while the articles are being transported in commerce or held for sale that is intended to cause or has the effect of causing adulteration or misbranding (Section 48(d)).
It is unlawful to slaughter food animals that have not been submitted for ante-mortem inspection or to store, transport, or sell carcasses/organs/parts not previously inspected and passed or found unfit for human consumption (Section 51).
It is unlawful for any person/entity to resist, harass, intimidate, assault, impede, or interfere with an inspector during performance of duties under the Act (Section 52).
It is unlawful for NMIS or local government meat inspection personnel to engage directly or indirectly in buying, selling, trading, or negotiating purchases/sales of meat/meat products for personal account or as an employee of another entity (Section 53).
It is unlawful for any shipping line or airline to accept shipment of meat and meat products for export into the country without an accompanying veterinary quarantine clearance from the Philippine side and an International Veterinary Certificate issued by the exporting country’s national controlling authority (Section 54).
The Secretary may issue a Cease and Desist Order after proper notice and hearing, summary in nature, except where continued operation causes imminent danger to public health; the order applies to slaughtering/processing/storage/labeling businesses found violating the Act when continued operation poses risk to public health and endangers animal population (Section 57).
Carcasses, parts, and products prepared/handled/packed/stored/transported/offered for sale as human food not in accordance with the Act must be confiscated and disposed of under implementing rules at the expense of the violating person/entity (Section 58).
The Secretary may refuse to allow inspection or temporarily suspend inspection for a new or any establishment for slaughter/handling that is not humane under the Animal Welfare Act until satisfactory assurance is provided (Section 20).

Records, access, and inspection compliance

Persons/firms/corporations engaged in slaughtering food animals; preparing/freezing/packaging/labeling carcasses/parts/products for human food; buying/selling/transporting/storing/importing carcasses/parts/products must keep records and must willfully and correctly disclose all pertinent transactions; they must afford access to records/facilities/inventory upon notice by a duly authorized Secretary representative (Section 55).

Transit, separability, repeal, and implementation

The Secretary must convene within ninety (90) days from effectivity a technical working committee composed of representatives from NMIS, Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Food and Drugs, and one (1) representative each from the League of Cities and the League of Municipalities to formulate necessary implementing rules and regulations in consultation with the private sector (Section 59).
Implementing rules and regulations must be submitted to the Committee on Agriculture of both Houses of Congress for prior approval (Section 59).
A separability clause provides that invalid/unconstitutional portions do not affect the validity of other provisions (Section 60).
All existing laws, decrees, executive orders, and rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the Code are repealed or modified accordingly (Section 61).