WHEREAS, a review of AO 39 identified certain provisions that may be amended to enhance and refine the implementation of the said guidelines;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, EDGARDO J. ANGARA, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, hereby issue this Order to provide amendatory provisions on the guidelines governing the importation of meat and meat products.

Section 1. The following provisions of AO 39 are hereby amended to read as follows:

I.	SECTION. EXPORTING COUNTRY REQUIREMENTS
	Section IV.C.2. The packaging must meet the minimum relevant labeling requirement, as defined in Article 77, Chapter IV of the Consumer Act of the Philippines and Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) AO No. 88-B, series of 1984 (Rules and Regulations Governing the Labeling of Pre-Packaged Food Products). The label on each box of the shipment of imported meat and/or meat products shall contain the following, as appropriate, which must be written in English or Filipino (each character of the text should not be less than 2.5 mm, for printed or stamped, and 5 mm, for stencil or hand painted):
	a) Correct and registered trade name or brand name; b) Business name and address of the exporter; c) Country of origin; d) Lot identification; e) Product description and/or, whenever applicable, the list of ingredients; f) Net quantity of contents, in terms of weight, measure or numerical count rounded to the nearest tenths; g) Date of manufacture and packaging; h) Date of minimum durability ("best before") and/or expiration date; and i) Handling and storage instructions.
II.	Section V. RELEASE PROCEDURES
	A. At least three (3) days prior to the expected arrival of the shipment, the importer shall inform the DAVQO at the port of entry by submitting the accomplished Notice of Arrival Form attached to the VQC. B. The shipment shall be accompanied by an IVC (written/translated in English) issued by the Veterinary Administration at the country of origin. C. The shipment shall only be released by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) upon accomplishment of the following:   Presentation by the importer of the VQC (original), IVC (original), Bill of Lading/Airway Bill, and Packing list to the DAVQO, for verification and evaluation; Initiation and completion of the mandatory veterinary quarantine inspection done by random sampling and/or documentation and clearance; Payment of veterinary quarantine inspection fee; and Issuance of a VQIC and stamped "Inspected and Passed" mark on the original copies of the BOC import documents/entries from the initiation of the quarantine inspection. D. The DAVQO shall provide the NMIC of the copy of the VQIC immediately from the time the goods are cleared. The consignee shall notify the NMIC (by submitting the accomplished Request for Meat Inspection and Laboratory Analysis attached to the VQC) upon release of the goods by the BOC and upon delivery of the same to the importers' cold storage/warehouse/processing plant. E. The NMIC shall:   Initiate meat inspection by random sampling within 48 hours upon arrival of the goods at the importer's cold storage/warehouse/processing plant. Subject the goods to microbial and chemical analyses to determine whether these conform to Philippine requirements. Issue an Imported Meat Inspection Clearance (IMIC) to the consignee within 3 working days from the arrival of the goods at the importer's cold storage/warehouse/processing plant, upon payment of the NMIC inspection fee. If laboratory result is not yet available within 3 days, an IMIC will still be issued to state that the subject goods will be subject to surveillance and mandatory recall should the result prove that the goods are unfit/unsafe for human consumption.
III.	SECTION VI. CONFISCATION AND DISPOSITION
	Section VI.A. Imported meat and meat products shall be confiscated if any of the following exists: The goods lack authentic VQC/SPS Import Permit and/or IVC; Part of or the entire shipment is removed from the cold storage/warehouse/processing plant prior to the release of the IMIC. The volume/quantity of goods imported exceeds the volume indicated in the approved VQC and IVC by more than three percent (3%) per item; provided, that only the volume/quantity which exceeds the allowable limit shall be confiscated. The goods lack appropriate labeling and packaging requirements referred to in Section IV; provided that the importer has been given adequate opportunity to undertake, within 7 days, corrective measures. Should such measure require more than seven days, the importer shall provide guarantees to assure that corrective measures shall be undertaken and accomplished within 30 days. The information on the IVC does not match/address the requirements/information stipulated in the VQC e.g, SPS conditions, among other irregularities; provided that the importer has been given adequate opportunity, not to exceed 7 days, to undertake corrective measures.
IV.	Section VIII TRANSITORY PROVISIONS. All existing importers and exporters shall be considered accredited unless the DA revokes such accreditation, upon review and assessment.

Section 2. Repealing Clause. All provisions in AO 39, s. 2000, which are inconsistent with this Order are hereby repealed.

Section 3. Effectivity Clause. This Order shall take effect seven (7) days after its publication in one (1) newspaper of national circulation.

Done in the City of Quezon, this 27th day of December, in the year of our Lord, 2000.

(Signed)
EDGARDO J. ANGARA
Secretary