Beef sold in Carbon Public Market. | CDN FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) reminded the owners of private slaughterhouses to comply with the health and environmental standards for their establishments.
The DVMF along with the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) and City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) met with the owners of the private slaughterhouses in the city on Thursday morning, June 6, to discuss these standards.
Slaughterhouses must use all stainless steel materials inside the slaughter area such as evisceration table, gambrels and meat hook. The compound must be at least 200 meters away from the nearest river system to avoid contamination of these water sources with the waste of the slaughterhouse.
The waste system management of slaughterhouses must be approved and in compliance with the Department of Natural Resources. These may include condemnation pit, segregation of solids from liquid waste and disinfection.
Dr. Alice Utlang, DVMF head, emphasized the necessity of these standards in the production of meat products since meat had been one of the primary goods the public would consume.
She encouraged the slaughterhouse owners to be vigilant and to never compromise on food safety for the benefit of the consumers in the city.
Utlang also said that the NMIS with the coordination of the DVMF would be conducting, starting next week, regular inspections and evaluations on the slaughterhouses and the owners must be prepared.
She said out of 22 establishments, only two were rated as “AA” or in full compliance to the standards.
One was a lechon-house with a grade 74.25 percent while another slaughterhouse had a grade of 72.8 percent.
Another lechon-house and slaughterhouse was graded “A” with a rate of 57.4 percent.
Utlang encouraged the slaughterhouse owners to comply with the standards of the NMIS so they would not be penalized and closed down for non-compliance./dbs