La Union pork ASF free: San Fernando City vet

By Erwin Bele

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – The City Government of San Fernando, through the City Veterinary Office, has assured that pork meat in this city and the rest of the province is free of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus.

              “We guarantee that all pork meat being sold at the city auxiliary wet market and slaughtered here goes through several inspections,” said Flosie Decena, city veterinary officer.

Pork meat being sold in the market here comes from the city’s pig racers and from the neighboring towns of Pangasinan.

“La Union and Pangasinan are very strict. We have highly contiguous security measures to prevent the entry of ASF,” Decena added.

According to Melinda Adriano, president of the meat vendors’ association, said that their pork meat sales have declined due to fears of ASF contamination.

“Takot ang mga customer naming unang-una, naapektuhan siyempre ang benta, ngunit sa tulong ng mga inspector sa city veterinary, nakikita naman nila na nag-checheck sila at ipinapaliwanag na ang produkto dito sa San Fernando ay malinis at safe,” Adriano said.

Decena advised consumers to avoid buying frozen pork products that are being sold at a cheaper price.

The Office of the Provincial Governor issued Executive Order no. 23, series of 2019 which declared a temporary ban on the entry of live swine/pigs, fresh and frozen pork, and pork products into the provinces from ASF-infected areas as confirmed by the Department of Agriculture in the province.

The ASF is a deadly animal disease affecting pigs and wild boars with up to 100% mortality. It has no known cure but it is harmless to humans.

Over five million pigs in Asia have died in the past year due to ASF, according to the latest data of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.