The government has reallowed the importation of canned pork products, but exporters must comply with a number of conditions prior to shipment of the food items to the Philippines.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. signed Department Circular (DC) 42, which lifted the temporary ban slapped on the importation of industrially manufactured, hermetically sealed, and heat-treated canned pork products.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said its decision followed an import risk analysis (IRA) conducted last January, which showed that biosecurity risks are reduced to a negligible level when trade is strictly limited to industrially manufactured, hermetically sealed pork products.
However, the products employ heat levels that ‘aggressively exceed’ the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) baseline requirement of 70 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.
This stemmed from an article in WOAH’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code (TAHC), which outlines a procedure for the inactivation of African swine fever (ASF) virus in meat.
‘Heat treatment for at least 30 minutes at a minimum temperature of 70° C, which should be reached throughout the meat; or any equivalent heat treatment which has been demonstrated to inactivate ASFV in meat.’
Furthermore, the agency said WOAH’s principle of Safe Commodities states that specific industrial treatments, specifically hermetic sealing and thermal sterilization, effectively neutralize ASF virus.
Under DC 42, the entry of canned pork products into the Philippines is allowed, provided that the pork products have undergone heat treatment in a hermetically sealed container with an F0 value of 3.0 equivalent or greater; are industrially manufactured; and hold valid registration in the Philippines.
‘All import transactions for the aforementioned commodities must strictly
comply with the existing rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture.’
The government issues temporary import restrictions as part of efforts to safeguard animal health and protect the local swine industry, which continues to grapple with the lingering effects of ASF since its detection in 2019.
Last February, Agriculture Undersecretary Constante Palabrica expressed optimism that hog production will recover this year, owing to government interventions that curbed the spread of ASF.
Government data showed that the country’s swine inventory stood at 8.79 million heads in 2025, a slight increase from the 8.75 million heads recorded in 2024.
‘The rebound is possible this year because we’ve minimized the transmission of the disease through the deployment of various checkpoints,’ Palabrica told reporters on the sidelines of the International Farmers Summit 2026.
In 2024, the DA deployed several livestock checkpoints across Luzon to curb the spread of ASF following the disease outbreak in Batangas. The agency said the outbreak may have been exacerbated by ‘unscrupulous hog traders selling diseased pigs.’