Following the recent confiscation of “double dead” lechon (roasted pig) being sold outside the Paco public market, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada on Friday alerted the city’s meat inspectors against the entry of “botcha” or tainted meat in the city.
With the start of “ber” months leading to Christmas, Estrada said unscrupulous vendors would again resort to selling botcha—livestock or poultry that have died due to disease, slaughtered, and then sold as fresh meat to consumers—owing to increased demand for meat and processed meat products during the season.
“This is our concern every Christmas season, so I have ordered our inspectors to intensify their inspection of public and privately owned markets, even those big supermarkets and groceries, to intercept those hot meat,” the mayor said.
Estrada said he wants the city’s Veterinary Inspection Board to go hard on individuals selling “botcha.”
“These people would never learn until they have taught a lesson,” he said.
Following a tip from legitimate meat vendors in the market, City Veterinarian and VIB chief Dr. Virgil Benedict de Jesus said they have seized some 16 kilos of chopped botcha lechon from a vendor during an operation on Sept. 23 just outside the Paco public market.
To deceive meat inspectors, he said vendors or sellers would often turn double dead meat into lechon to hide traces of the bad meat.
Aside from the obvious characteristics of “hot meat”—it has a dark hide and the hairs of the skin remain stuck to the fat even after being dipped in boiling water—the seized lechon, De Jesus said, was being sold at a cheap price of P80 to P130 per kilo, in contrast to the regular price of P800 per kilo.
The suspect is facing charges of violating Republic Act 10536, the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines, and City Ordinance No. 4739, which prohibits the sale of meat from clandestine operations.
Based on RA 10536, sellers or distributors of tainted meat could be fined from P150,000 to P300,000 and a prison term, according to De Jesus.
As ordered by Estrada, De Jesus said the Board’s 11 meat inspectors are going around the city’s 18 public markets every day to conduct surprise and thorough inspections of fresh and cooked meat.
Additionally, a special three-man inspection team was also created to inspect private shopping malls such as SM, Robinson’s, supermarkets like Puregold, restaurants, and hotels within Manila, De Jesus added.
He advised the public to be wary of buying meat from suspicious sources and those that are being sold at impossibly cheaper prices.
“Double-dead meat is easy to recognize: The meat is pale, sometimes taking on a bluish or greenish tinge, and smells bad, and the hair and skin have not been properly cleaned,” De Jesus described.
In buying from stalls or meat shops, always look for the meat inspection certificate that should be always on display, he added.
De Jesus warned that people who eat botcha will most likely suffer from diarrhea and vomiting due to the bacteria coming from the contaminated meat’s blood.
In more serious cases, he said some patients have died of food poisoning and contamination after eating huge amounts of botcha, he added.
