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Thursday, August 31, 2006
Gov’t warns vs. meat, rice sans safety inspection
The government is warning consumers against the proliferation of “cheap but unsafe” rice and meat sold by “unscrupulous” vendors.
National Meat Inspection Services (NMIS) 7 Director Romeo Capa said his office has penalized several vendors violating the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines.
“Our primary mandate is to protect public health, so we can assure that the meat (that have passed our inspection) is safe,” he said.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) 7 operations officer VI Lito Ampong also warned individuals who sell any kind of meat to their neighbors without submitting these to inspection.
“We have raised this concern to the barangay level,” Ampong said.
Quarantine
Capa said big livestock, such as cows, needs to be quarantined and brought to a slaughterhouse for inspection by NMIS personnel even if it is for home consumption.
“More than 200 animal diseases are transferred to humans,” Capa pointed out.
He said NMIS’s Bantay Karne task force submits monthly monitoring reports on the entry of all types of meat in the market and their price.
According to Capa, prices of meat in Cebu are relatively lower compared to Manila.
He said beef is sold at P171 per kilo compared to P238 in Manila, pork at P141 per kilo compared to P142 while dressed chicken is priced at P101 per kilo compared to P104 in Manila.
Meanwhile, National Food Authority (NFA) 7 chief licensing spokesman Ernesto Lariosa advised consumers on mislabeling.
Violations
Mislabeling, according to Lariosa, is a “dishonest move by some rice vendors who mix high quality rice with a poor one and pass it as Ganador.”
However, he denied the existence of adulterated rice in the province.
However, he admitted that over 100 vendors in Cebu have been found committing several violations, such as operating without licenses, over-pricing and mislabeling.
But he said the NFA has appointed people to monitor the prices of rice in the local market.
“The local government units are mandated to organize price monitoring of commodities in the city,” said Joy Mantalaba, DILG operations officer V.
Mantalaba, Lariosa, Ampong and Capa were among the speakers during yesterday’s kapihan held at the DTI Provincial Office and sponsored by the Philippine Information Agency. (MMM)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 31, 2006 issue)
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