Strict monitoring of pork products pushed

THE Bacolod City Council is asking the Bureau of Customs-bacolod, Bureau of Quarantinebacolod, National Meat Inspection Service, City Veterinary Office, and City Health Office to strictly monitor and prevent the entry of imported pork and pork products from countries affected by African swine fever.

The resolution, authored by Councilor Bartolome Orola, was approved during the regular session on Wednesday.

Orola, chairperson of the City Council committee on markets, said a threat of hog disease called the African swine fever, which has killed millions of pigs all over the world and poses a grave danger to the Philippine livestock industry, is currently ravaging Europe and other neighboring countries.

He said the Department of Agriculture has imposed strict quarantine protocols to prevent the entry of pork and porkbased products from at least eight countries like Belgium, China, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.

“There is a need to tighten control and monitoring in all ports of entry to our jurisdiction to prevent any contamination or infection that would cause havoc in our local swine industry and to help maintain the status of our country as one of the countries in the world which is from animal disease,” Orola added.

Orola noted it is the policy of the State to ensure food security and provide safety and quality standards for customer products related to agriculture to assure the protection of the public against unreasonable risks of injury and hazard to health.

Orola said the Bacolodnon consumers are also encouraged to patronize locally produced pork and pork products over imported products for health safety purposes as well as to uplift the local hog industry.*