Misamis Oriental hosts grill party to ease swine fever worries

EAT ALL YOU CAN: At the Misamis Oriental Capitol grounds, some 200 kilos of pork are grilled, chopped to bite sizes, and given to the public for free.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY- Public worries about the African swine fever (ASF) and its effect on humans led to a grand grill party here.

During Friday’s farmers’ market, a weekly event held at the Misamis Oriental Capitol grounds, some 200 kilos of pork were grilled, chopped to bite sizes, and given to the public for free.

Provincial veterinarian Benjamin Resma said the activity aims to prove that pork sold here are safe and that locally raised hogs are free from African swine fever.

Earlier, regional agriculture officials made the same assurance, saying that securing northern Mindanao’s hog industry from the onslaught of African swine fever is of utmost importance to them now.

According to Juliet Araos, regional regulatory chief of the Department of Agriculture, the spread of the ASF-carrying virus is slowed down as the country is archipelagic.

Confirmed cases of ASF infection are in Rizal and Bulacan provinces./ac