BY IRA KAREN APANAY SENIOR REPORTER

THE Department of Agriculture has temporarily banned the entry of birds and poultry, including their products, from the Czech Republic after receiving an official report from the World Animal Health Organization of an outbreak of the dreaded Avian Influenza in the area. Ariculture Undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla ordered the ban on bird and poultry imports from Jihocesky in the Czech Republic following official reports from the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) confirming an outbreak of bird flu in the area.

Fondevilla said the OIE, based on the report by the chief veterinary officer of the Czech Republic, said an occurrence of “low pathogenic Avian Influenza” was detected in a farm in Trebin, Ceske Budejovice in Jihocesky.

Fondevilla said the ban and other emergency measures were necessary to protect human health and the poultry industry in the Philippines, which has remained AI-free since the H5N1 strain of this virus struck back in Asia six years ago.

The Philippines along with Brunei and Singapore are the only AI-free countries in Southeast Asia.

The World Health Organization has reported that as of November 27, 2009, there were 444 laboratory-confirmed cases of the bird flu and 262 fatalities from the disease since the H5N1 strain of the virus broke out in Southeast Asia in 2003 and then spread across the rest of the continent, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In another development, a nongovernment organization on Tuesday warned of a possible chemical contamination of imported fish from Vietnam and China being sold in local supermarkets after receiving reports that those are contaminated with chemicals used as preservatives and bleaching agents.

Sonny Batungbacal, spokesperson of Tambuyog Development Center said the group received information from an insider in the fisheries industry that cream dory fish being sold as fillet in major supermarkets is contaminated with sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide.

Batungbacal said the exporters of cream dory fish in Vietnam and China use the said chemicals to whiten the flesh of the said fish.

Batungbacal said that after receiving this information, the group bought the said fish product in the market and asked the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to test the flesh but the said government agencies have no capacity to conduct such test.

Tambuyog also check with the University of the Philippines’ National Sciences Research Institute (NSRI) and Marine Science Institute (MSI) and in private institutions such as Qualibet, Intertek and Titac, but to their disappointment the said laboratories also cannot conduct the said test.

“The group also inquired with SGS and was informed that SGS Philippines does not have the facilities for such testing but other braches such as SGS Singapore may have,” Batungbacal said.

Tambuyog assailed the government for accepting such products to be sold in the market since the government is not capable of doing such test. The group stressed that the government has no capacity to safeguard the consumers.

Batungbacal said the least that the government can do to address this problem is to ask for a certification from the exporting country that the product that they are exporting is not hazardous to people’s health.

Batungbacal said their source also said that there are 800 boxes every night or 24 container vans every month of cream dory fish fillets are coming from the said countries in Navotas fish port.

Sulfur dioxide, if mixed with water, becomes sulfuric acid and used as preservative and bleaching agent, while potassium hydroxide is corrosive substance as the sulfuric acid that is usually used to make soap.