QC meat vendor nabbed for selling ASF-infected pork

A vendor in Barangay Toro, Quezon City was arrested after authorities found that he had been selling pork meat purchased from the African swine fever (ASF) virus-infected Barangay Payatas.

According to Tina Panganiban-Perez's report on "24 Oras", officials from the Quezon City Veterinary Department went to the unnamed vendor’s house past 5 a.m. and found the infected meat.

“Napag-alaman namin na sa Payatas siya kumukuha ng baboy kung saan within 1-kilometer radius ay infected area... So bawal maglabas ng baboy sa Payatas, at do’n siya bumili ng baboy,” department head Ana Marie Cabel said.

Authorities in Barangay Payatas have culled 3,065 pigs so far due to ASF. 

The vendor insisted that the meat was clean and safe.

He will be facing charges for violation of the QC Veterinary Code, Food Safety Act, and Sanitation Code of the Philippines.

Before confiscating the illegal meat, authorities took tissue samples from the pork for testing by the Bureau of Animal Industry.

Cabel stressed that consumers should only buy meat from the market and not from other sources to avoid buying infected pork. —Julia Mari Ornedo/NB, GMA News