TABUK CITY, Kalinga– The City Veterinary Services Office (CVSO) is currently examining markets throughout the city to keep an eye on the selling of “hot meat” that is dangerous to eat.
The action, which is a routine program of the office and part of the post-abattoir monitoring or meat inspection, aims to examine whether meat and meat products sold in markets have gone through the meat inspection process with legal paperwork, according to OIC City Veterinarian Dr. Carmen Wanas.
Wanas noted that products that have not undergone meat inspection are labeled “botcha” or “hot meat,” and are therefore unsafe to sell to the general public and thus, she advised local meat vendors to use the city slaughterhouse rather than backyard slaughtering.
Despite warnings, some meat vendors and traders ignore safety protocols and as a result, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) is beefing up inspection at quarantine checkpoints to monitor the entry of illegal and undocumented meat products.
Wanas further stated that the examination identifies businesses selling meat and meat products without the proper permits and documentation. The CVSO sends the report to the Business Permits and Licensing Office for action.
The city government has enforced penalties for the sale of “hot meat” in accordance with the Meat Inspection Code where the violator is cautioned and signs a waiver for the first offense, but the second and subsequent offenses result in product confiscation.
Meat merchants that follow the meat inspection process will be labeled as National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) compliant meat suppliers, according to Wanas.
City Mayor Darwin Estrañero reminds residents that the best way to assess the safety of meat and meat products consumed is through inspection, and that animals slaughtered for the purpose of sale should only be butchered at slaughterhouses before being sold at public markets.