Mandaue reactivates Task Force Hot Meat

CEBU - Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes has reactivated Task Force Hot Meat to ensure that meat on the table is safe and disease-free.

This developed as Cortes announced that the new abattoir located in a 2.5-hectare lot in barangay Labogon can now accommodate 150 heads of cattle per day.

According to Cortes, the six-member task force attended a one-day seminar conducted last week by the National Meat Inspection Service to apprise themselves of pertinent laws and how to discharge their function.

The task force is headed by assistant city administrator for Human Resource Eutiquio Sanchez with co-chairwoman by city veterinarian Ma. Daisy Penetrante, DVM. Other members include representatives from the City Legal Office, City Health Office, City Treasurer’s Office and Market Office.

With the reactivation of the task force all hogs should pass only through the city abattoir which means that all other abattoirs except Sunpride which is accredited by NMIS, are declared illegal and should be closed, said Edwin Jumao-as, a meat inspector of the City Veterinary Office.

Jumao-as said they are now undergoing an information campaign before they fully implement the law. The task force will establish checkpoints and apprehend anyone caught in possession of hot meat.

Jumao-as said the rehabilitation of the city’s abattoir is almost complete. They have yet to acquire boilers and additional wastewater pans.

In the absence of a boiler, the city has utilized large cooking pans and Liquefied Petroleum Gas tanks.

All hogs passing the city abattoir undergo at least eight processes which include ante-mortem and post-mortem in which the meat inspector tries to determine any possible disease. 

If found to be unsafe, the carcasses will be poured with crude oil and buried in a designated area in the abattoir premises.

The City Veterinary Office has budgeted P8 million for the upgrading of equipment of which NMIS has given a P4-million grant. 

The P14-million cost of constructing the perimeter fence and improvement of the building has been included in the supplemental budget.  — Jose P. Sollano/BRP (THE FREEMAN)