Mekeni recalls pork-based products amid swine fever scare
MANILA, Philippines — Processed meat manufacturer Mekeni Food Corp. said Saturday it voluntarily recalled all of its pork-based products amid reports that the dreaded African swine fever virus has been detected in some of its processed pork items.
In a statement, Mekeni said it was removing its processed pork products from the market pending the results of laboratory tests.
But the company maintained that its pork-based products are safe for consumption.
“This is to ensure that we mitigate the possibility that our products inadvertently become carriers of ASF,” Mekeni said.
The Department of Agriculture last month confirmed that the ASF virus has reached some backyard farms in the Philippines, spelling disaster for the nation’s hog industry and pushing up prices of other meat products as consumers avoid pork.
While the disease is usually fatal in pigs but not harmful to humans, the ASF can cause major economic loss to swine industries. The Philippine government culled hogs in several locations and enforced a temporary ban on the importation of pork meat products from countries affected by the virus.
In a clinical laboratory report dated October 15, the Bureau of Animal Industry confirmed that three meat samples tested positive for the virus. The report, however, did not mention a specific brand or where they came from.
The Department of Agriculture has said the country’s hog industry is losing nearly $20 million a month from ASF infections. — with a report from The STAR/Louise Maureen Simeon
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