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Samoa turkey tails ban remains in force

Sorry folks, turkey tails are still banned, at least for now. Since Samoa’s membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was confirmed, the Quarantine Division of the Ministry o Agriculture says people have been bringing in the product from overseas, only to find that the ban was still in place and they had to be destroyed.The problem was addressed in a letter from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to the Ministries of Health, Revenue and Agriculture pointing out that “recent media releases surrounding the removal of the import ban on turkey tails in relation to Samoa’s WTO Membership, can be, and may have already been, misinterpreted by the public at large.“We therefore write to advise on Samoa’s WTO commitment and to provide clarity on the matter,” wrote Foreign Affairs CEO, Aiono Mose Sua. He pointed out that Samoa has committed to undertake the following actions to address the WTO Members’ concerns on Samoa’s existing discriminatory and trade distorting import prohibition of turkey tails and turkey tail products.The letter states that after 12 months of WTO membership, the current prohibition order on turkey tails and turkey tail products would be revoked. Then the Minister of Health, under the Food and Drug Amendment Act 2011 will make the necessary order banning the wholesale and retailing of the products.