P4.5M ‘hot meat’ seized in Pampanga

MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga — Authorities have confiscated an estimated P4.5 million worth of frozen meat products from a trading establishment in Bacolor town, Pampanga.

The operation was conducted at an establishment in Barangay Calibutbut, where authorities arrested the owner and production manager for alleged violations of the Food Safety Act of 2013 and the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines.

In a statement released on June 20, the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) said the operation was carried out on June 18 and 19 by the Regional Special Operations Group of the Regional Intelligence Division 3, in coordination with the Food and Drug Administration Region 3, the National Meat Inspection Service Region 3, the Bacolor municipal government, and the Bacolor Municipal Police Station.

READ: 3 truckloads of smuggled hot meat disposed of in Pampanga

Under Republic Act No. 10536, “hot meat” refers to carcasses or meat products from food animals slaughtered in unregistered or unaccredited facilities that have not undergone the required inspection.

The law also covers undocumented, illegally shipped, or unregistered meat products imported from other countries, as well as those classified as “hot meat” by the National Meat Inspection Service.

“Initial findings indicated that some of the products were already expired and were allegedly being repackaged or recycled for distribution,” PRO3 said. /mcm