Following the detection of an African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak in Spain, the Chilean Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) proactively reinforced health inspections at Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport to prevent the entry of hazardous products and safeguard Chile’s health status.
The measure is part of a biosecurity campaign at Santiago International Airport carried out by SAG, the Chilean Meat Exporters Association, ChileCarne, and the Association of Pig Producers (Asprocer). The initiative is part of a public-private effort that Chile has consolidated over the past seven years, involving the entire pork industry.
The Chilean pork and poultry production and export industry has focused on biosecurity as an essential competitive advantage, giving rise to a first-class export sector that is present in the most demanding markets worldwide. Anticipation, public-private coordination, and prevention at the border are key to protecting the country’s biosecurity.
The campaign includes stepping up the health inspections carried out by SAG during the Chilean summer, when passenger traffic increases at the country’s main air terminal. However, this year the operation was strengthened and implemented earlier in response to the health situation in Spain and the higher risk of entry of exotic diseases not present in Chile, such as ASF.
The tightened controls focus on luggage checks for passengers arriving from Europe or with connections on the continent, given that one of the main risks of introducing ASF is the informal entry of pork-based products. Any food containing pork of Spanish origin, or with no clear labeling to verify its origin, is intercepted and destroyed.
Although ASF does not affect people, its entry could have serious production, economic, and commercial impacts on the domestic pork industry, which is why these preventive actions are key to safeguarding the sector’s production and exports.
SAG reiterated its call on passengers not to bring animal-based foods into the country and to comply with current health regulations, emphasizing that biosecurity at the border is a shared responsibility and a key tool for protecting Chile’s animal health.
