Davao City – The Davao City government urged Dabawenyos to be extra cautious in buying fresh and processed pork meat by checking the inspection certificates issued by relevant government agencies especially that the African Swine Fever (ASF) remains a threat to the hog industry in the city.
This is after the inspectors from the City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO) have found African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in the samples of chorizo, tocino, and lumpiang shanghai taken from the Public Market on July 30, 2020, and August 5, 2020.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is investigating the incident, has seized more or less 207 kilos of processed meat valued at P30,000. The meat products were condemned and destructed.
Assistant City Veterinarian Dr. Ester Rayos said that consumers must check if the merchant has a meat inspection certificate (MIC) signed by the meat inspector.
“Nagpasabot na nga kung naay MIC, na inspect gyud ang karne sa atoang mga accredited nga mga slaughter houses (If they have MIC means the meat were inspected in our accredited slaughterhouses),” she said in an interview on Tuesday.
She added that the vendors’ certificates must also be visible in their stalls. The consumers have also the right to demand it.
“Kung mopalit sila og karne, kinahanglan kato gyud inspected sa atoang mga meat inspector sa slaughter house. Dili sila mopalit didtoa sa kadaplinan lang nga walay mga dokumento nga ipakita. (If they buy meat it should be those inspected by our meat inspectors in the slaughterhouse. They should not buy meat from the sidewalk and those not properly documented),” Rayos said.
She also urged meat vendors to have their pigs slaughtered at the city accredited slaughterhouses to ensure these are safe for consumption.
Rayos said there are two inspections conducted in the slaughterhouse – the ante-mortem and post-mortem. These are two inspection procedures conducted before and after the pigs are slaughtered.
(City Information Office)
(Source: The Official Website of the City Government of Davao)