More than 2,400 kilos of pork products intended for holiday consumption were recently intercepted by the African Swine Fever Task Force at the Bacolod-Silay Airport and different sea ports in the province.
The task force sent back to Cebu P1.231 million worth of the products transported by a forwarder after they were intercepted at Escalante City port on Dec. 15. The shipment did not have the necessary documents from the origin.
Dr. Ryan Janoya, head of the ASF-TF Quarantine Division in Negros, said that while Cebu is an ASF-free province, it was expected that the agreement to ship in bulk pork products should be, however, supported by documents when transported to other provinces.
More than P31,000 worth of assorted pork products were also confiscated from Dec. 14 to 20 by the ASF Task Force operatives assigned at Bacolod -Silay Airport.
Most of the products were found in hand-carried luggage of passengers from Metro Manila for their personal consumption.
The provincial task force explained to the owners the ordinance that it has to document the confiscated items, which were mostly ham, bacon and sausages.
The seized meat products were burned at the airport compound in the presence of police operatives.
Janoya said they strengthened their monitoring efforts since first week of December by fielding personnel on a 24-hour rotation.
He noted that most of those who unaware of the ordinance are the returning stranded individuals and overseas workers.
The continued operation is a way of preventing the entry of meat products from areas with positive cases of ASF, particularly from Luzon and some parts of Mindanao, Janoya said.
Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Renante Decena said last week Negrenses need not worry about their pork ham supply for the holidays since the province and Cebu products are enough for their consumption. – MML
