Bureau of Customs. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) disclosed Tuesday that nearly six million kilos of expired imported meat that did not undergo required quarantine tests and food safety examinations may have been smuggled into the Philippines.
In a statement, SINAG said data obtained from Bureau of Customs (BOC) sources showed that 121.6 million kilos of imported pork meat were released by the agency from January to June this year. However, official data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) reveals that only 116 million kilos passed through quarantine inspection which means 5.6 million kilos are unaccounted for.
“We’re calling on Agriculture Secretary Proseso Alcala and BOC Commissioner John Philip Sevilla to immediately investigate this matter. Bakit nakakalabas sa BOC ng walang quarantine clearance at bakit walang quarantine officer to check on the imported meat (Why did this pass through BOC without quarantine clearance and without a quarantine officer checking on the imported meat)?” asked Rosendo So, SINAG Chair.
“To protect consumer welfare, the BAI Director and all meat importers should also come forward and disclose the amount of meat they imported this year; when these arrived; their quarantine inspection certificates; where the meat were delivered; and the names of the companies or restaurant chains that received said imports,” said Vicente Mercado, Chair of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI).
Mercado said SINAG’s expose comes at a critical period following claims by a group of meat importers that it’s alright to eat expired meat as long as these are frozen. “No country allows the resale of frozen meat as chilled and no country should ever allow thawed frozen meat to be passed off and sold as fresh meat,” he said.
“These meat importers have no business in the food industry as they pose the greatest threat to our public health security. Kung gusto nila, sila na lang ang kumain at ‘wag na idamay ang pamilya at mga anak natin (If they want, they can eat them but don’t include our families and our children),” So stressed.
He said the meat importers’ misplaced mindset is alarming, especially in view of the recent expired meat scandal in China where Shanghai Husi Company – a major supplier to fast-food chains like McDonalds, KFC, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Dicos in China – were found to be supplying expired meat,” continued So.
For the safety of Filipino consumers and their children, SINAG and NHFI said they should patronize freshly slaughtered meat from domestic hog growers. “There’s enough local production to meet the country’s pork demands,” the group said.
“Hindi po natin dapat tangkilikin at kainin ang basura ng ibang bansa. Ang expired na karne ay ibinabasura na sa ibang bansa ngunit ito’y binibili sa murang halaga ng mga mapagsamantalang importers at ipapasa sa mga Filipino na kunwari ay sariwa pa,” added So.
(We should not buy and eat what other countries discard as waste. But some unscrupulous importers still buy the expired meat at a low price and pass this on to Filipinos as if it’s fresh.)