CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is considering extending the 100-day ban on the entry of live hogs, pork and pork-related products from Luzon as there is a high risk that African swine fever (ASF) would spread to other parts of the country.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) divulged on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 that the seized meat products—longganisa, tocino and hotdog, among others—from a medium-scale processor in Central Luzon tested positive of ASF. Authorities confiscated the meat products from a passenger in a Mindoro port.
Garcia implemented the pork ban by issuing Executive Order (EO) 16 last Sept. 18. The ban, which ends on Dec. 28, also covers pork byproducts and boar semen.
The rising number of provinces in Luzon affected by ASF has worried the governor.
Garcia had told Agriculture Secretary William Dar that she would lift the ban only if ASF is already contained.
“What are we seeing now: it’s getting worse and worse. So, we must continue to protect Cebu,” she said.
Dangerous
ASF, said Garcia, is highly dangerous to the swine industry. It could affect the backyard raisers in Cebu Province. She has defied the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s memo, which ordered her to lift the ban.
“We will not panic, but let us be afraid. I don’t know why do we have to try and protect these big businesses when, in the end, those who would be affected would be our own backyard raisers, whose income the families depend on para mapaiskwela nila ilang mga anak (so they could send their children to school),” Garcia said.
Based on the DA’s list, the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan, Pampangga, Pangasinan, Cavite and Nueva Ecija and the city of Quezon in Luzon were affected by ASF.
Transparency
Meanwhile, the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) has urged regulatory agencies to publicly disclose any testing for ASF to prevent “unwanted speculations that could cause irreparable harm and injury to affected parties.”
However, Pampi, in a statement, clarified that it is not against the measures implemented by the government against ASF.
“The ASF virus, if any, that was reported to have been detected in the tested products did not appear out of the blue. It was contained in the pork material that was supplied by local hog raisers to the processor to produce the hotdog, longganisa and tocino, as reported,” it said.
Pampi said its members’ processing procedures kill any bacteria, including ASF. It stated: “All our cooked and/or smoked processed meat products are subjected to temperatures ranging from 70 to 116 degrees Celsius for 40 to 60 minutes. At these high temperatures, harmful bacteria and viruses, including ASF virus if any, are killed and destroyed.”
The group further said that “some processors operate plants in or near areas where ASF outbreaks occurred,” and it is “up to individual members to decide whether to require ASF testing for locally-supplied pork materials or forego the same and take the risk of facing a situation where the finished product may be found later to be ASF-infected when tested.”
Safe products
San Miguel Foods, in a separate statement, said its Purefoods products are ASF-free and safe to eat. It assured that it will cooperate with authorities.
The company said its products have the complete requirements from the Bureau of Animal Industry, National Meat Inspection Service and Food and Drug Administration.
San Miguel said their products are tested for ASF.
“The pork ingredients in Purefood products come from farms that are strictly supervised by San Miguel Foods and observe the highest bio-security measures while the imported materials come from ASF-free countries. Purefood chilled products like hotdogs, Christmas hams and canned products like luncheon meats are cooked in high temperatures ensuring safety from harmful organisms,” it said. / (from ANV of Superbalita Cebu/KAL/JOB)