INSPECTION. A team of the Provincial African swine fever (ASF) Task Force checks the processed foods being sold in a local supermarket as part of the enforcement of 'The ASF Prevention Ordinance of Negros Occidental' on Monday (Dec. 9, 2019). Some 43 establishments have been ordered to pull out from their shelves all pork products which originated from Luzon and identified ASF-affected countries.
(Photo courtesy of Provincial ASF Task Force-Negros Occidental)
BACOLOD CITY -- The Negros Occidental provincial government, through its African swine fever (ASF) Task Force, has ordered 43 establishments to dispose of all pork products coming from Luzon and identified ASF-hit countries.
The directive came as simultaneous inspections were conducted province-wide by various teams in supermarkets, grocery stores, and similar establishments as the ASF Prevention Ordinance of Negros Occidental took effect on Monday.
Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena, co-chair of the Provincial ASF Task Force, also led a team during the conduct of inspection and monitoring.
As of Wednesday, the task force posted on its Facebook page that 64 pork products were found in these establishments, which were given three days to pull out the said items from their shelves.
“Any violation of the provincial ordinance will be penalized,” it said.
The ASF Prevention Ordinance of Negros Occidental prohibits the entry of live pig, boar semen, pork, and pork products, including food items containing pork originating from, and/or processed in Luzon and countries affected with ASF.
During the inspections conducted in various local government units, teams checked canned goods such as sausage, pork and beans, luncheon meat, and processed foods such as hotdogs, longganisa, and tocino.
The ordinance cited the ASF outbreak in several areas of Luzon such as the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Cavite, Nueva, and also Quezon City.
Outbreak has been reported in Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea and Mongolia, and with active cases found in 17 other countries.
ASF is a contagious hemorrhagic viral disease among domestic and wild pigs that can spread rapidly regardless of borders.
Negros Occidental, the country’s number one backyard hog producer, with a PHP6-billion swine industry, has enforced since September 18 the ban on the entry of pork and pork products from Luzon.
On November 26, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer signed Provincial Ordinance 2019-024, otherwise known as “The ASF Prevention Ordinance of Negros Occidental”, to keep the province virus-free.
Provincial Board Resolution 1042 also declared Negros Occidental as an ASF-free province.
As of late November, the Provincial ASF Task Force quarantine team has confiscated PHP2.51 million worth of pork and pork-based products at the Bacolod-Silay Airport and other ports of entry since the 90-day ban on pork from Luzon started in September. (PNA)
