ASF task force seizes pork-laced items
The Iloilo Provincial African Swine Fever (ASF) Task Force has confiscated and disposed of 627 assorted items with “pork ingredients” for violating Provincial Ordinance number 2021-250, which was first enforced in March this year.
The items were confiscated from various supermarkets in the province and the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan on June 8 and were gotten rid of on June 11, Dr. Darel Tabuada of the Provincial Veterinarian Office (PVO) and co-chair of the task force said in an interview on Wednesday, June 16.
The seized products were disposed of using the material waste recovery facility and incinerator in the province’s Pototan town.
He added that it was their first confiscation since the ordinance was passed on March 22, 2021.
“We looked at the ingredients. If it has pork ingredients and the manufacturing area is ASF-affected area, then it is considered a banned product so we confiscate it,” Tabuada said.
The ordinance also known as the African swine fever Prevention Ordinance of Iloilo bans the entry of livestock transport carriers and hog vans to the province of Iloilo without disinfection certificate and/or ASF-free certificate from the point of origin or port of exit and live pig, boar semen, pork and pork products including food items containing pork originating from, manufactured and/or processed in areas affected by the disease as declared by the Department of Agriculture (DA) such as Luzon, Mindanao, Masbate, and Eastern Visayas.
For the entire April, the PVO embarked on a massive information drive in public markets and supermarkets to raise public awareness about the ordinance.
The ordinance, which designated the Philippine National Police as head of the apprehension team, has a confiscation clause that allows the issuance of the Ordinance Violation Receipt (OVR) carrying a penalty of P2,000 on the first offense, he said.
Tabuada added that while municipalities are expected to create their own ASF task forces, yet the provincial task force can come in if it is monitored that more pork products coming from ASF-affected areas are entering their area.