DA, NFA TEAMS TO INSPECT
RICE PRIOR TO SHIPMENT
By Manny Piñol
The Department of Agriculture, implementing policies on Food Safety, and the National Food Authority (NFA) will jointly form inspection teams to check imported rice from Vietnam, Thailand or other sources before its shipment to the Philippines.
The new policy was adopted during the NFA Council meeting which I chaired Monday last week.
It is a measure which I submitted to the NFAC for approval to prevent a repeat of rice shipments infested with weevils or “Bukbok.”
The measure is also expected to check on the compliance by private importers to the new policy of the NFAC which allows the importation only of rice Classified as 25% Broken.
The DA, under the Food Safety Act, sets guidelines on Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Standards on all imported agriculture and fishery products, especially food.
It could stop the entry of food items which could pose threats to health and safety.
In the case of imported rice, the DA SPS teams could check not only the presence of “Bukbok” or Weevils but also chemical residues.
The NFA inspection team could also thwart misdeclaration or technical smuggling through the shipment of Fancy or Premium Rice instead of 25% Broken as specified in the new NFAC policy.
(Photos of NFA rice unloaded in Zamboanga Port taken by Diane Faith Garcia)
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