Agriculture officials confirmed two products from processed food company Mekeni Food Corporation tested positive for African Swine Fever (ASF).
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Monday Mekeni’s skinless longganisa and “picnic” hotdog products were confirmed with the disease based on tests done by its Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Central Luzon on October 25. The company had recalled all pork-based products from markets on October 26.
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Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo, concurrent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officer-in-charge, said Mekeni may face administrative charges and have its license revoked for selling ASF-infected meat.
He said initial inspection of Mekeni facilities did not reveal problems, but the FDA will continue to monitor and investigate the company for possible lapses.
“After the investigation, depending on the findings, if we see some wrongdoing, then they would have an administrative case with the FDA including possible revocation of license to operate,” Domingo said in a media briefing Monday.
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Agriculture Secretary William Dar said although the disease does not directly affect humans, the Food Safety Act of 2013 prohibits the use of contaminated meat in food and food processing. Violators can face up to 12 years imprisonment and a fine of up to P1 million.
Meanwhile, Mekeni said it will cooperate with the government’s probe and support the review of its protocols.
“Despite this unfortunate development, we assure government that we will continue to cooperate in its ongoing investigation to determine the source of ASF,” the company said in a statement Monday.
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It added that it has also conducted its own product tests and are still awaiting results.
Apart from the product recall, Mekeni said it has also suspended pork-processing operations and had its facility disinfected. A third party company also examined the facility, it added.
Domingo said people need not worry if they have consumed Mekeni products since the disease does not affect humans. He added that the public may return products still in their possession to their dealers and the dealers would, in turn, give them back to the manufacturer for proper disposal.
The Agriculture department said it is investigating where Mekeni’s ASF-tainted meat came from.
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He added that the FDA has also inspected 63 other processed food manufacturers but found that they were compliant with regulations.
There has been a spike in the number of ASF cases in the country since July. A summary report by the Agriculture department on October 30 identified over 500 piggeries hit by the disease in Quezon City and Pangasinan since September, despite the agency earlier claiming that the disease has been contained in these areas.
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CNN Philippines' correspondent Carolyn Bonquin contributed to this report.
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This article first appeared on CNN Philippines.
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