Mishandled meat is confiscated from the Carbon Public Market in Cebu City on June 20, 2019. | Photo grabbed from the Facebook page of DVMF head Dr. Alice Utlang
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The National Meat Inspection Service in Central Visayas (NMIS-7), in a joint operation with the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) in Cebu City, confiscated at least one metric ton worth of mishandled meat at the Carbon Public Market here.
According to Doctor Roseller Manalo, the assistant regional director of the NMIS-7, the assorted meat, composed of 500.25 kilos of chicken and 554.09 kilos of imported pork, was not fit for human consumption.
He said the some of the confiscated products were considered hot meat because they did not have the meat inspection certificate and the transport of the meat was not accredited as well.
Manalo said the handling of the meat was not done in compliance with the country’s standards as some owners placed the meat in dirty containers while the frozen meat were not placed in a proper ice-bed needed to maintain the temperature. Frozen meat must be kept in cold temperature to avoid spoilage.
At least four owners were arrested for selling the mishandled meat. They will be facing a penalty of P50,000 and a possible jail time of up to one year.
“The penalty will depend on the gravity of their offense,” said Manalo.
Doctor Jennifer Laurente, officer-in-charge of the Health Division of the DVMF, said that the meat inspectors of the department have been conducting surveillance every day to monitor violators in the public market.
“This is a recurring problem. The DVMF has continued to remind the vendors of the proper sanitary practices in handling meat yet they do not listen,” she said.
She also said the city is always monitoring the meat being sold in the markets to ensure the safety of the food being consumed by the public.
The confiscated meat were buried at the Cebu Zoo in compliance to proper disposal of confiscated meat products. /bmjo