The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) is authorizing imports of processed animal proteins (PAPs) from countries affected by African Swine Fever (ASF) only for aquafeed use. PAPs from ASF-affected countries were temporarily banned early this year.

“Aquaculture is one of the biggest contributors to the Philippine economy with more than two million registered fisherfolk nationwide and to sustain the local aquaculture industry, adequate supply of feed products, such as PAPs, used as raw material in aquaculture feed manufacture, is crucial,” the DA said in a memorandum order.

Based on an import risk assessment conducted by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the risk of the virus entering via PAPs shipments from ASF-affected countries is deemed to be medium, while the risk of exposure is estimated to be low, the DA said.

The World Organisation for Animal Health Code indicates that the ASF virus is inactivated when meat is subjected to heat for at least 30 minutes at a minimum temperature of 70°C, according to the DA. Therefore, the risk of transmission of ASF virus through the inclusion of PAPs in aquafeeds diets is low since the feed ingredient is subjected to several manufacturing processes with a temperature sufficient to inactivate the ASF virus, it said.