Monday, April 30, 2007 Producers test ‘pork in a box’
TRANSPORT of live hogs from Cebu and other regions to Manila will no longer be allowed after the Department of Agriculture (DA) adopted the “Pork in a Box” program.
Different organizations of hog farmers have conceptualized this program to ensure safe and hygienic pork meat in local markets.
It was offered in 2005, but the government was hesitant about the idea because frozen meat is not widely preferred by most consumers in wet markets.
The program mandates that only carcasses and cut products from Mindanao and Visayas are to be sold to markets in Metro Manila.
DA 7 Executive Director Eduardo Lecciones said his office and the different organizations of hog farmers will be holding a joint information drive to change the mindset of the public and encourage them to buy frozen pork meat, while identifying and strengthening more markets.
He said the DA adopted the idea because aside from its being environmentally safe, it would minimize transport costs, provide easy access to quality meat cuts and eliminate the practice of hiring middlemen to sell live hogs upon arrival at the Manila port.
It is also seen to reduce the risk of disease transmission because a carcass will have to pass through the National Meat Inspection Service before it is shipped to Manila. The program is part of efforts to stabilize prices of basic goods “by perfecting the supply chain.” (AIV)
