The Quezon City Veterinary Office monitors those who sell imported pork in the markets.
This was followed by reports that retailers were mixing imported meat with fresh meat and selling them at the price of fresh for greater profit.
According to Quezon City veterinarian Dr. Marie Cabel, they haven’t caught anything yet. Still, she said it’s not impossible because it’s hard to differentiate fresh meat from imported when the ice has melted and the meats combined.
“Makikita mo parang fresh na rin pag na-thaw na siya. Ang diperensiya lang mas maraming taba ‘yung frozen pero bukod doon wala kaya puwedeng puwede talaga mangyari ‘yun,” said Cabel.
In addition, they also find it difficult to monitor the compliance of vendors with the Food Safety Act because many of the imported vendors still do not have chillers or freezers in their stalls.
Some vendors also allegedly let the ice melt on imported meats on the dirty floors in their stalls.
Mixing of imported and fresh meat monitored
“Sa bed of ice nakapatong ang ‘yung karne. ‘Yun ang pinapagawa namin kung walang chiller. ‘Yun namang paglagay nila ng ice di naman nila name-maintain, pagdating namin doon wala nang yelo. Pag naubusan na ng yelo, di na nila nire-replace. Pagka ‘yung frozen meat nila, naka-box yan, ito-thaw nila ‘yan. Pano nila ito-thaw ‘yun kung walang chiller so pinababayaan na lang nila na natutuyo ‘yung karne,” said Cabel.
They only give tickets for the violation to the vendors. Still, the office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is asking the supermarkets or meat shops to only sell the imported meat because they have a proper refrigeration facility, and the products will not be destroyed.
The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) does not believe that imported meat is mixed with fresh meat because it looks very different.
“‘Yung frozen, pag tiningnan mo ‘yan ibang-iba siya sa sariwa, ‘di mo siya pupuwede na paghaluin at i-claim the same, kasi ‘yung consistency pa lang niyan, yung frozen napakatigas niyan kaya gusto nating i-maintain ‘yan sa chiller kasi ‘di siya dapat mag-thaw,” said BAI OIC-Director Dr. Reildrin Morales.
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