Agri group fears expired meat being sold in markets

FARM and agri-business advocates are calling for a clear accounting of contraband meat products as hundreds of containers linger in ports because of questionable papers.

According to the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), authorities allegedly could not keep track of 203 containers of hot meat, which contain some 5 million kilos of pork and other pig products.

“There are containers overstaying at the Manila International Container Port and the consignees are still working for their release,” Sinag chair Rosendo So told the Inquirer.

“These shipments are being held because the production dates and expiry dates are not clearly or completely indicated in the import documents,” So said. “Some of these have been at the port since January, and we consider all these as expired.”

The Sinag chief noted three importers are appealing for the release of at least 45 containers. Yet, So said he has received reports that expired meat have been seized in the markets of Manila and as far as Pangasinan.

“What if the expired meat that were seized in the markets are part of the 203 containers supposedly still in the ports?” he asked.

Sinag, which groups together some 33 organizations of farmers, agri-business operators and party-list groups, demanded that the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Department of Agriculture account fully for the 203 containers.

So claimed the BoC has accounted for only 106 containers.

“If not from our sources on the ground that feed this information to Sinag, we would not know about these container-loads of expired meat,” he said. “How many more have not been monitored and reported that have simply slipped out of the BoC premises and sold to consumers?”