DOH warns vs spoiled meat

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit urged people to be wary when buying meat and make sure they buy from reputable stores to avoid food poisoning from consumption of "double dead" meat.

Dayrit issued the advisory after reports earlier alleged that "double dead" meat was being openly sold in the markets of Muntinlupa, Pasay and Quezon City.

The health chief said that the consumption of "double dead" or spoiled meat leads to food poisoning.

"Fresh beef meat should be bright red in color, while pork and lamb should be light pink," Dayrit said.

Dayrit explained that meat is considered spoiled if it has a detectable offensive odor, an abnormally dark color and slimy texture.

"Beef spoilage can be seen first on its surface while pork usually spoils at the juncture of the bone and meat in the inner portions," he said.

Signs and symptoms of food poisoning, Dayrit enumerated, include dizziness, headache, tiredness, double vision, and dryness of the mouth and throat.

"This is followed by inability to speak due to paralysis of the throat muscles. Death may also occur as a result of the paralysis of the respirator centers," Dayrit stressed. – Rainier Allan Ronda