China opens doors to Canadian pork

China will soon resume Canadian pork imports in accordance with an agreement made between the two countries in December 2009, reported Xinhua, the Chinese government’s news agency. Canadian government statistics put the country’s pork exports to China at about US$42.15M in 2008, before a spring 2009 Chinese ban on Canadian pork went into effect over concerns about the H1N1 flu virus.
"When our government works to open and expand markets for Canadian producers around the world we always point to the clear [World Animal Health Organization] consensus that Canadian pork and beef is safe," Gerry Ritz, Canada’s agriculture minister, told a meeting of the World Animal Health Organization and Organization of Economic Cooperation in Paris. "We are pleased to continue our strong and respectful working relationship with China."

Philippines ends ban on US meat, bone meal

The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted the temporary ban on meat and bone meal imports from the United States following official confirmation from global health authorities on the controlled-risk status of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in the U.S.
DA Secretary Arthur Yap said in a memorandum that the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) has adopted a resolution recognizing the United States as "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) controlled risk" based on the provisions of the OIE's Terrestrial Code. BSE is also known as mad cow disease.
Controlled risk means there has been no case of BSE or, if there has been a case, every case of BSE has been demonstrated to have been imported and has been completely destroyed.
He further noted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized additional restrictions to its Feed Rule (USFDA-HHS 2008) with the implementation of the “cattle material prohibited from animal feed,” to decrease the risk of BSE in the U.S.