Food security advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan pressed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to lift the ban on Italian porcine processed animal protein (PAP) as the trade restriction could raise fish prices by P2 per kilogram.
Food security advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan pressed the Department of Agriculture to lift the ban on Italian porcine processed animal protein as the trade restriction could raise fish prices by P2 per kilogram.
It said the production of PAP involves high heat treatment, which can inactivate viruses like African swine fever . In January, the DA temporarily banned the importation of pork products, including PAP, from Italy after the European country confirmed an outbreak of ASF. “To make PAP powder, the mixture of meat and other animal parts is processed at 130 degrees Celsius, almost double the 70 degrees Celsius at which the ASF virus is killed. During the feed manufacturing process, PAP is further ‘cooked’ at temperatures reaching 200 degrees Celsius to make floating fish food.”
“The biggest impact of the ban on imported PAP from Italy is the higher cost of aquaculture feeds. Every P1.00 of additional feed cost roughly translates to over P2.00 per kilo of fish because a fish farmer needs two kilos of feed for a fish to reach one kilo,” the group said.