Over P5M-worth of 'hot meat' seized in Pasay City

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Undocumented meat products or “hot meat” worth P5.19 million were seized in Pasay City during a joint operation by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last month.

The operation was conducted from September 22 to 23 following surveillance by the NBI.

The seized goods weighed approximately 11.5 metric tons and included Peking duck, whole pigeon, lamb, yellow chicken, black chicken and other frozen meat products, the DA said.

“Basically, those are Chinese delicacies. China isn't certified to sell those products to us here,” DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said at a press briefing.

The DA said the raided establishments were neither accredited by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) nor registered with the concerned local government units as meat cold-storage warehouses or meat depots.

The NBI also arrested two Chinese nationals for alleged violations of the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines, which prohibits the sale, transport or distribution of meat products that have not undergone the required inspections.

The seized products are currently secured at Supima Cold Storage, an NMIS-accredited facility in Meycauayan, Bulacan, while awaiting a court order for their final disposition, the DA said.

Any meat deemed unfit for human consumption will be safely destroyed in accordance with official regulations, according to the DA.

The DA warned that illegally imported meat products could pose risks to humans and farm animals, noting that the country is free from African swine fever (ASF) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

“First of all, that's dangerous—you don't know what kind of disease it might carry,” Tiu Laurel said.— MCG, GMA News