Imported pork shipment seized at Bacolod port

PORK BURNING Workers burn a shipment of imported pork products seized at a port in Bacolod City as the Negros Occidental provincial government imposes measures to protect the local hog industry from African swine fever. —PHOTO COURTESY OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL VETERINARY OFFICE

BACOLOD CITY—Five tons of illegally imported pork products were seized at a port in this city on Wednesday as the province stepped up measures to prevent the spread of the African swine fever (ASF) in Negros Occidental province, agriculture officials said.

The products, worth about P500,000 and which came from France, were reportedly shipped from Cebu City and were set to be delivered to Iloilo City.

Veterinarian Rezel Amacio of the Bureau of Animal Industry said the driver of the truck where the products were loaded failed to show inspectors a shipping permit.

“We [asked] the carriers to open the van. It turned out that the products … had no documents,” said Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, chair of the province’s ASF task force and who led the inspection team.

Lacson on Tuesday approved a 90-day ban on the entry of pork products from areas outside of Negros Occidental.

Renante Decena, provincial veterinarian, said the recovered pork products were immediately burned and buried at the port.

Earlier, the Department of Agriculture confirmed that the ASF virus was found in 14 of 20 blood samples taken from pigs that died in Luzon farms. The agency, however, assured the safety of pork products in the country. —CARLA GOMEZ