MANILA, Philippines – Plant quarantine officers in all ports of the country have been ordered to closely monitor the possible entry of apples with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria from the United States.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recalled Gala and Granny Smith apple shipments from California-based supplier Bidart Brothers to the Philippines following the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) alert that the company’s apple packing facility tested positive for bacterial contamination.
These contaminated apples are sold under the brand names Big B and Granny’s Best.
Still, all apples coming from the US will be monitored at Philippine ports.
Exposure to the bacteria causes a condition called listeriosis, a rare but fatal illness that can cause flu-like symptoms, diarrhea, and meningitis, among others, the US FDA said.
Upon receipt of an advisory from the DTI, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) alerted the country’s main ports, the Manila International Container Terminal and Manila South Harbor. They instructed stationed quarantine officers to inspect apple shipments from the US and take samples for laboratory testing.
Paz Benavidez, agriculture assistant secretary and BPI officer-in-charge said Thursday, January 29, that the bureau had cancelled the sanitary and pythosanitary import clearance for apple shipments covered by the recall order.
Benavidez said on January 26 that no contaminated apple shipments from the US had entered the country yet.
Most of the apple shipments arriving in the Philippines are from China, she added.
The US Embassy in Manila said that apples coming from Washington State, which are also exported to the Philippines, are safe for consumption. (READ: FAQs on recalled US apples) – Rappler.com
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