A TOTAL of almost 41 kilograms of meat products, mostly pork, were seized in Negros Occidental this week.
On Thursday, October 10, 15 kilograms of sausages were intercepted at Bacolod - Silay Airport in Silay City.
Dr. Ryan Janoya, head of Animal Health and Meat Inspection Services Division of the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO), said these frozen pork products came from Pampanga.
Janoya said these are shipped by a resident of Talisay City in Negros Occidental for personal consumption.
“This violates the existing 90-day ban on pork products coming from Luzon,” he said, adding that the sausages were shipped back to its point of origin.
Prior to this, on Tuesday, October 8, members of the Provincial Task Force on African Swine Fever (ASF) confiscated 12 kilograms of assorted pork products, still at the airport.
The processed products including siomai and sisig transported from Quezon City are supposed to be delivered to a food stall in Bago City.
Janoya said the items are actually misdeclared as these are included to fishery products.
“It has no permits specifically as pork products and it is also non-compliant to the existing ban,” he said, adding that the team disposed the products at the airport.
All in all, the seized pork products cost about P8,000.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson issued Executive Order (EO) No. 19-40 Series of 2019 temporarily banning pork products coming from Luzon.
It took effect starting September 18, days after the Department of Agriculture (DA) confirmed positive cases in farms of Rizal and Bulacan.
The ban covers live pigs, pork, pork products and by-products from Luzon whether fresh, processed or canned which can carry the ASF virus.
This is one of the province’s measures to protect its P6-billion swine industry.
Meanwhile, another 12.7 kilograms of “mishandled” meat products were confiscated at the public market of Cadiz City on Sunday.
A joint inspection team composed of the PVO, Cadiz City Police Station and City Veterinary Office seized 12.7 kilograms of imported meat products from a stall.
These are on top of one kilogram of pork liver, which was also sold at the public market.
Janoya said the stall violated the guidelines on proper display of imported meat products.
These frozen products are prone to microorganisms and bacterial contamination especially at higher temperature, he said.
As penalty, the products were confiscated and turned over to the City Veterinary Office for proper disposal.
“It has nothing to do with the ban, rather on the meat safety regulations,” Janoya said, adding that this is to protect the consumers from possible poisoning cases.
The PVO official said they are also intensifying the campaign on food safety alongside measures to protect the province’s swine industry from ASF.