Cebu City, Philippines – Even if Central Visayas, particularly Cebu, is free from the African Swine Fever (ASF) that has contaminated piggeries in several countries abroad, Cebu City’s Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) began conducting random inspections in cold storage facilities.
In an interview with Cebu Daily News Digital, Dr. Alice Utlang, director of DVMF, said the random inspection among cold storage facilities, which is used to store pork products, is their measure on preventing the entry of ASF in the city.
The inspection began last Monday, January 14. DVMF conducted another round of inspection today, Tuesday (January 15).
So far, Utlang said Cebu City is free from the deadly virus that has prompted the Department of Agriculture (DA) to ban the entry of imported pork from at least 13 countries.
“Fortunately, we found no pork products imported from the banned countries,” she said.
Pork from China, Hungary, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, Zambia and Russia are banned from entering the Philippines after their own piggeries have been contaminated by ASF. BJO