A total of 1,508 canned pork products being sold in supermarkets and groceries here were confiscated on Monday afternoon after these were found to be tampered and banned, the City Veterinary Office (CVO) said.

Dr. Emmanuel Estipona, CVO chief, said that in surprise inspections, members of the city government’s Task Force African Swine Fever (ASF) found 2 big supermarkets and a local distributor to have displayed, delivered and sold canned pork products from Vietnam.

In a phone interview, Estipona said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently banned canned pork products from Vietnam due to reports of ASF-contaminated products.

During the inspections, a supermarket was discovered to be selling 52 cans of imported luncheon meat from Vietnam with tampered label, while another was found with 1,456 cans of luncheon meat and Jamonilla displayed.

The banned and tampered products were put on hold pending the submission of the required traceability documents by the supermarket owners, Estipona said.

“We are closely checking that no acts, such as misrepresentation and mislabeling of processed meat, are done to protect our consumers,” he said.

A local distributor of canned products was also subject for investigation after it was suspected to be delivering and selling canned pork products from Vietnam to supermarkets.

The FDA has earlier issued an advisory to supermarkets against processed pork products from Vietnam that were mislabeled and tampered to conceal their importation and distribution information. (PNA)