LGUs told to lift ban on processed meat products

MANILA, Philippines— The Department of Interior and Local Government on Tuesday issued a memorandum circular ordering local government units to allow the distribution and sale of meat products that contain pork in all provinces as long as it meets the standards of the agency.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año asked the LGUs to stop allowing unwanted disruption of trade and commerce and protect the consumers and stakeholders in the country amid the implementation of measures against the spread of African Swine Fever.

“Since the government has been acting aggressively and effectively to address the ASF outbreak, we are urging all LGUs to lift the ban on processed meat products containing pork for as long as the products meet certain conditions imposed by the Department of Agriculture,” Año was quoted in a press release.

According to the memorandum circular, processed meat products that do not have pork as ingredient such as corned beef, beef hotdogs, chicken nuggets, chicken hotdogs, and similar items should be allowed unrestricted movement and distribution in all provinces.

Pork products subject to standards

Processed meat products that contain pork as raw material, either partially or fully, should likewise be allowed to be distributed and sold to all provinces subject to conditions imposed by the DA.

According to the international standards adopted by the Philippine Association of Meat Processors, meat products containing pork should be heat-treated or fully cooked.

On the other hand, canned meat products should be cooked at 116 degrees Celsius for at least 60 minutes, while hotdogs, hams, and bacon should be processed or smoked or cooked to a core temperature of at least 72 degrees centigrade for over one hour.

Smoked or cooked pork sausages should be cooked to a core temperature of at least 72 degrees centigrade for at least 40 minutes.

“Upon demand by LGU quarantine officials, the Certificate of Product Registration of processed meat products issued by the Food and Drug Administration to the manufacturers may be shown to LGUs. This should suffice to allow movement and distribution to all provinces,” Año said.

The DILG reminded manufacturers or processor to present certification of the source or origin of imported porks from non-ASF infected country. This is to ensure that the source countries are free from ASF and are from DA-approved sources.

Among the acceptable certification include Veterinary Health Certificate of the exporting country and the Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Import Permit issued by the DA.

It added that pork sourced from local producers should also provide a document issued by the National Meat Inspection Service authorizing its movement or use for production of processed meats should be shown to LGU authorities.

On the other hand, providers of processed meat products like tocino, fresh longanisa, and tapa that use pork as material but do not undergo heat treatment or full cooking, should present an NMIS certification necessary for locally sourced pork.

DILG: Safeguards against ASF in place

Jonathan Malaya, DILG undersecretary and spokesperson said that the DILG guidelines were already issued to protect all stakeholders, the economy, the industry and the consuming public.

“The experts from the Department of Agriculture have already advised us that if the conditions are met, processed meat is safe. Moreover, the current restrictions will ultimately force consumers to pay higher prices because of the adverse impact of the LGU-imposed ban on the meat industry,” Malaya said.

In a recent report of the US Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service, the Philippines is projected to import 350,000 metric tons of pork in 2020. The figure is 32 percent higher than this year’s expected 265,000 MT.

The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. earlier said its members are challenged by the ban on pork products despite the growing demand amid the upcoming Christmas season. It said it recorded a loss of around P40 billion following the ASF scare.

According to the DILG, there have been around 30,000 pigs that died or were culled due to ASF since the outbreak in July this year. —Rosette Adel