Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 15) — The Department of Agriculture has warned against buying frozen meat in wet markets, which aren’t kept in chillers or freezers, saying improper storage presents “a significant safety risk.”
In a statement on Monday, the DA cited its Administrative Order No. 6, series of 2012, which prohibits the display or sale of frozen products in public markets without the appropriate refrigeration facilities. This creates food safety risks due to product thawing and mishandling, the department said.
Its warning came after the agriculture group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikuktura or SINAG slammed the DA for its alleged “reluctance to arrest importers that are brazenly dumping frozen pork into our wet markets.”
The group also expressed its disappointment over the alleged statement of DA Secretary William Dar that “frozen pork is better than fresh slaughtered pork.”
“Statements like that emboldens importers and smugglers alike to dump frozen meat (chicken and pork) in our palengkes and talipapas [public markets],” SINAG chair Rosendo So said.
The DA, for its part, said the Agriculture Secretary made no such statement.
It also denied SINAG’s claim that the DA pushed for a price cap on pork and chicken products “without consulting the sector,” saying it had conferred with swine industry players, consumers’ groups, and local government units before it recommended setting up price ceilings.
READ: Duterte orders 60-day price cap on pork, chicken products in Metro Manila
