Agri dep’t food import inspections to be random
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will have to resort to random checks of imported foods instead of plans for a total inspection regime because of cold storage and personnel constraints at ports of entry.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said apart from personnel issues, that the lack of cold storage at Customs facilities limits the ability to conduct total inspection because some shipments would spoil.
“We cannot follow all containers because we lack the personnel. So what will happen is we will conduct random checks,” Mr. Piñol told reporters at the Department of Agriculture office on Thursday.
The Secretary earlier announced plans to implement Republic Act 10611, or the Food Safety Act of 2013, which requires that “imported foods shall undergo cargo inspection and clearance procedures by the DA and the DoH ( Department of Health) at the first port of entry to determine compliance with national regulations.”
He added that Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon has agreed with him to implement the order.
In other developments, Mr. Piñol confirmed that he has allowed members of the Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc. and other established regular importers with clean records to use a fast lane to expedite the validation of their SPS permits.
“We’ll still go through the usual procedures but the institutional importers should be given priority if they have no record of smuggling,” said Mr. Piñol.
The DA last week issued an order that recalled all outstanding SPS permits in an anti-smuggling measure.
The agency has issued some 3,000 such permits in the past. It said that as of Nov. 25, it has validated some 1,700 such documents. —