The quarantine officer of the Bureau of Animal Industry in Negros Oriental on Monday warned the public against pork ham and other swine by-products that are manufactured and/or shipped to the province from areas affected by African swine fever (ASF).
Dr. Alfonso Tundag, who heads the BAI here, told the MetroPost the public must be cautious in buying and consuming pork meat products as the Christmas season nears and holiday shoppers are beginning to stockpile food items for their celebrations.
Tundag said consumers must check the label first and see where the ham and other pork products are manufactured, even as he reassured that so far, they have not seized any smuggled raw or processed pork meat from areas with ASF cases.
The Central Visayas provinces of Negros Oriental, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor remain ASF-free to date, he noted.
A Cebu-based company is so far the only processed meat manufacturer which ham and other pork meat by-products are allowed in the province, he added.
While ham is technically considered “safe” because it is fully cooked and has passed/complied with the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration, the directive of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo to prohibit the entry of all kinds of pork meat and by-products to the province is still in effect, Tundag said.
Some companies have now shifted to the use of chicken meat instead of pork in their ham products, the BAI officer said.
Meanwhile, hog raisers in Negros Oriental have reassured the public there is enough supply of pork meat even as the demand increases due to the coming Christmas holidays.
Dr. Tundag on Wednesday said the reassurance came even as hog raisers continue to supply other provinces with live pigs.
Between 25,000 to 35,000 heads of pigs are being shipped out of the province per month, he noted.
Negros Oriental has been supplying hogs to other areas as some provinces are still grappling with the effects of Asian swine fever and therefore could not sell their livestock, he added.
Many provinces have banned the entry of pork and its by-products from areas with ASF cases.
Currently, the selling price of pigs in Negros Oriental is slowly increasing, pegged between P130 to P140 per kilo of live weight.
Local hog raisers are now recovering from the slow business during the onset of the pandemic when live-weight pork meat was sold below P100 per kilo.
Negros Oriental and the rest of the Central Visayas provinces remain ASF-free with restrictions still in place against the entry of pork meat and its by-products from areas affected by the hog disease. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
