KALIBO, Aklan – Buy processed meat products only from areas not affected by African swine fever (ASF), the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Aklan urged consumers.
It noted the proliferation of hard-to-verify online sellers from everywhere peddling even processed meat products such as ham, longganisa and tocino.
These products could be potential carriers of the ASF virus, said DA-Aklan farmcaster Ronelo Salaver.
ASF is a highly contagious viral disease in pigs and hogs. It has no cure or vaccine available, according to the DA.
Salaver urged Aklanons to patronize local hog raisers to protect their livelihood and Aklan’s hog industry.
“Malaki ang epekto sa hog industry pagnakapasok ang ASF,” said Salaver.
Some 80 percent of Aklan’s swine industry are backyard raisers.
Regional Director Remelyn Recoter, on the other hand, urged the Bureau of Animal Industry and provincial veterinary offices in Western Visayas to check the baggage of returning overseas Filipino workers, locally stranded individuals and authorized persons outside of residence for the possible presence of meat products from ASF-hit areas.
Executive Order (EO) No. 46 and EO 60 issued last year by Aklan governor Florencio Miraflores temporarily banned of all types of pork, pork-related products and by-products whether raw, processed or cooked from Luzon, Mindanao and ASF-affected countries and localities.
These EOs are still in effect.
Aklan has also intensified border control and quarantine security to keep ASF at bay./PN
