THE Anti-African Swine Fever (ASF) Task Force last week pulled out several packets of pork tocino from a grocery store of a mall in Cagayan de Oro City after the management failed to present proper documents.

City Veterinarian Lucien Anthony Acac, task force head, said the mall management cannot produce documents that would prove that the meat products arrived in the city before the temporary pork ban was imposed.

A box of pork tocino was sealed and ordered to be stored back to their storage room, prohibiting them to display it unless the mall produces the shipment papers.

However, the City Veterinarian Office clarified that the mall management already informed them that the documents have been found, showing that the products arrived before the pork ban was put in place.

In an executive order, Mayor Oscar Moreno imposed the temporary pork ban on September 27 which covers the temporary total ban on the entry of hogs, all fresh/frozen pork meat and processed pork products from Luzon, and other identified ASF-affected areas in the country and abroad.

The temporary total ban covers live hogs, pork meat, frozen boar semen, canned goods from pork meat such as pork meat loaf, pork sausages, and pork mechado, including processed pork meat products such as bacon, hams, pork tocino, longganiza, pork hot dogs, and others. Pork siopao and pork siomai products from Luzon are also banned.

The ban will continue until the national government declares the country ASF-free.