Philippine food industry studies EU poultry safety systems

MANILA — Philippine food industry representatives visited Poland in June to study European poultry safety, traceability and veterinary supervision as the Philippines strengthens oversight of products of animal origin.

The study mission was organized under the “European Poultry – From Our Farms to Your Tables” campaign, which is co-funded by the European Union.

The visit came amid rapid growth in European poultry shipments to the Philippines and increasing demands from trading partners for transparency throughout the food production chain.

For Filipino consumers, stronger traceability and veterinary controls could help authorities identify food-safety risks, verify the origins of imported meat and respond more quickly when contaminated or disease-affected products enter the supply chain.

Clear and consistently enforced standards could also give importers and consumers greater confidence that expanding poultry trade will not come at the expense of public health or product quality.

The mission followed the enactment of Republic Act No. 12308, or the Animal Industry Development and Competitiveness Act, on Sept. 25, 2025.

The law strengthens the Bureau of Animal Industry, expands its regulatory responsibilities and provides a broader framework for developing the country’s livestock, poultry and dairy sectors.

The reforms reflect the increasing importance of food safety, animal-health controls and supply-chain transparency in domestic and international trade.

The Philippine delegation began its mission with a conference at Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Participants were briefed on the European poultry production system and the rules governing veterinary supervision.

Experts discussed risk-based controls, export certification and mechanisms intended to maintain product traceability at every stage of the supply chain.

The delegation also visited production facilities to observe how European quality and food-safety standards are applied in commercial operations.

Participants examined quality-control and traceability systems used to monitor poultry products from farms to consumers.

The Philippine and European representatives also discussed opportunities to expand poultry trade between the European Union, including Poland, and the Philippines.

European Commission data from its Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development showed that Philippine poultry meat imports from the European Union reached 67,296 metric tons in 2025.

The comparable volume was 3,486 metric tons two years earlier.

The figures indicate that imports increased by 63,810 metric tons over the two-year period.

The 2025 volume was more than 19 times the level recorded two years earlier.

The sharp increase makes coordination on production standards, veterinary rules and food-safety requirements more important for regulators and companies on both sides.

It also raises the need for Philippine authorities to ensure that inspection, certification and traceability systems keep pace with rising import volumes.

“The Philippines is one of the most promising markets outside the EU for the Polish poultry industry. We are pleased with the strong interest in the European production and food safety standards presented during the mission. We believe direct meetings with Philippine industry representatives will support further growth in trade. We are also working to establish regionalisation within the smallest possible area accepted by the Philippine authorities, which will be another important step towards expanding Polish poultry exports,” said Dariusz Goszczyński, President of the National Poultry Council – Chamber of Commerce in Poland.

Regionalization allows trade restrictions imposed during an animal-disease outbreak to be limited to an affected area instead of covering an entire exporting country.

For poultry exporters, acceptance of smaller regional zones could allow shipments from disease-free areas to continue even when an outbreak is detected elsewhere.

For the Philippines, any regionalization arrangement would require dependable surveillance, certification and information-sharing systems to prevent animal diseases and unsafe products from entering the local market.

The expansion of trade will therefore depend not only on commercial demand but also on whether European exporters can meet Philippine health requirements and whether domestic regulators have sufficient capacity to monitor imported products.

The Poland mission sought to deepen that regulatory and commercial understanding as the Philippines develops its food-safety system and the European poultry industry pursues further growth in the Philippine market.