THE Bureau of Animal Industry’s (BAI) Veterinary Quarantine Service have intercepted a shipment of 35,000 pieces of fertilized duck eggs, locally known as “balut,” at the port of Zamboanga.
The local BAI office shipment was intercepted on Tuesday afternoon, August 15, during an on board inspection of a passenger-cargo ferry that docked at the local port.
The BAI said that the point of origin of the cargo is Candaba, Pampanga.
The BAI said that the shipment, consisting of 126 boxes, is consigned to two local businessmen who are engaged in the business of boiled fertilized duck eggs adding that one of the owners agreed to ship back the fertilized eggs. He owns 90 of the 126 boxes.
The other businessman, who owns the remaining 36 boxes, has abandoned the cargo. The BAI said the eggs will be properly disposed.
The veterinary quarantine service is closely monitoring all inbound vessels to check on the shipment of poultry and poultry products.
This came as Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol has banned the shipment of wild and domesticated birds and other poultry products from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
Piñol issued the order after an avian influenza outbreak has been confirmed in Pampanga. (VoxPop Philippines)
