Meat traders in uproar over frozen meat seizure

Meat traders are protesting what they called the “unwarranted confiscation” of imported frozen meat by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).

The Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) said Friday in a statement that the seized imported meat products were safe, legally

imported and should not be restricted from the marketplace.

Over the past few days, NMIS confiscated 100 kilograms of pork at Commonwealth market and 400 kg of pork and chicken at Bicutan market.

“Such irresponsible waste of perfectly good and wholesome food in the light of so much hunger around is unconscionable. The NMIS contends that because the imported meat is frozen and is displayed in the open that it has been exposed to contamination and is therefore unwholesome. This is as if all the local meat at the wet market were not similarly exposed,” Mita said.

Meat traders also questioned why the NMIS cited Administrative Order (AO) 22 as its basis when the order was passed without public consultation.

AO22, which was implemented on Dec. 12, 2010, confines the handling and distribution of frozen and chilled meat within the cold chain.

In January 2011, Mita president Jesus C. Cham questioned the rationale of the order and why local warm meat was not restricted.

“We cannot fathom why DA/NMIS would subject frozen meat to such stringent conditions and leave out the 95 percent local warm meat, which has a higher initial microbial load [and] more exposed to external contamination,” Cham said in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala.