THE Philippines can now export processed meat products to Japan.

This was learned after the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has included the Philippines in its list of certifiied countries that passed the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-based (HACCP) hygiene management protocols.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that this favorable development will be a big boost for the country’s livestock producers and food manufacturers, meat processors and exporters as department continue to look for market opportunities to jumpstart the country’s economic recovery amid the pandemic.

“It is also a testament to our commitment in providing safe, healthy and world-class quality food for both domestic and export markets, and Japan is a discriminating market. Thus, we look forward to penetrating more export markets,” Dar said.

“We are pleased that we have successfully hurdled Japan’s stringent food safety and hygiene management standards,” Dar added.

Dar disclosed that the products that can be exported to Japan are exporting beef, carabeef, pork, chevon, mutton and their by-products. Article 11 of Japan’s Food Sanitation Law provides that only meat products using HACCP management systems may be imported into the country.

Since 2003, the DA through its National Meat Inspection Service (DA-NMIS) has implemented the mandatory application of the HACCP program in all licensed “triple A” (AAA) meat establishments. HACCP is a science-based, systematic protocol that identifies hazards and measures for their control to ensure food safety.

DA-NMIS Director Jocelyn Salvador, meanwhile, said that prior to getting the thumbs-up to ship processed meat products to Japan, the Philippines was only allowed to export chicken meat, mainly used for grilling as “yakitori.

Yakitori is a Japanese menu where bite-sized chicken, beef, pork and other meat or fish are put on skewers, which are then grilled and served.

“The HACCP certification implies that the systems of certification of the Philippines are at par with global standards,” Salvador said.

“The significance of this move by Tokyo is that they rely upon and trust our systems of certification. This means that if the Philippines certifies certain establishments and meat products, Japan will automatically accept this certification without question,” she added.

At present, Salvador said, there are at least 70 Philippine meat establishments—including slaughterhouses, meat-cutting plants, poultry dressing plants, and cold storage facilities—in the country that have “AAA” certification from the DA-NMIS, the list of which has been furnished to the Japan’s MHLW.

Japan remains one of the country’s largest trading partners which was further enhanced with the signing of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement in 2006.

The country’s major agriculture exports to Japan include Cavendish banana, pineapple, coconut oil, and chicken yakitori.

“This is a victory, and we are now reaping the rewards of the DA’s continuing efforts to educate Philippine food manufacturers to adhere to global food safety standards,” said Dar.

“This is in line with the Duterte administration’s strategy to increase the country’s exports of farm and fishery products, with emphasis on diversified and expanded value-chain or food systems from farms and fishing grounds, to processing, and finally to dining tables. We will therefore continue to push for more exports of farm and fishery products to propel the agri-industrialization of the Philippine countryside,” he added.