The Asian Swine Fever (ASF) Joint Task Force in Negros Oriental continues to monitor and visit grocery stores and other establishments to ensure that pork by-products, such as canned goods manufactured in Luzon or Mindanao are taken down from the shelves.

Dr. Alfonso Tundag, Provincial Quarantine Officer of the Bureau of Animal Industry,said the joint team from his office, the Provincial Veterinary Office, the National Meat Inspection Service, and the Dumaguete City Veterinary Office have visited a number of establishments here to inform about an executive order issued by Governor Roel Degamo on measures to prevent the ASF from entering the province.

This past weekend, they witnessed the recall of pork products displayed at a supermarket here “in compliance with EO No. 6-2020 by Governor Degamo which bans the entry of live hogs and pork products coming from those areas”, Tundag said.

Only the Visayas region remains free from the ASF, a disease that does not affect humans but can be deadly to pigs.

Tundag explained that if these by-products with pork coming from ASF-affected areas are not properly disposed of, there is a high risk that pigs in the province will be contaminated with the disease.

So far, the task force has not met any resistance from the establishment owners, who said they will return the stocks taken down from the shelves to their suppliers.

When asked about which brands are covered by the ban, Tundag said consumers must read the fine print on the labels, as these would say where the pork by-products have been manufactured.

He said the establishment owners were warned not to distribute these to smaller stores as they could be sanctioned for violating the governor’s executive order.

Tundag said they will also be visiting other towns and cities in Negros Oriental soon to ensure that these pork by-products will be removed from the shelves. (PNA)