GOVERNMENT agents have confiscated some P30 million worth of expired meat and other frozen goods in a raid at a warehouse in Caloocan City.
The raid was conducted by a team from the Bureau of Customs with the assistance from the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).
Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said the agency’s commitment to protecting the country’s borders in accordance to the directive by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Our agents work tirelessly to protect our borders and all local industries, including livestock, poultry, and meat. Not only is the local distribution of expired/spoiled meat detrimental to the health of our citizens, it also endangers our local livestock because of the possible entry of pathogenic diseases,” Rubio said.
The BOC inspection team, headed by Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy said that raid on the warehouse yielded P 30 million worth of spoiled frozen meat and other products, such as ice cream and meat balls, among others.
“Our agriculture industries will only remain vibrant if we do our mandate of intercepting possible entry and distribution of disease-bearing or expired and spoiled frozen meat and animal by-products, and pro-actively protecting both the consumers and our industries,” he said.
“We are thankful to representatives from the DA and the NMIS for extending their experience in agricultural inspection as country’s frontliners in ensuring economic resilience,” he said.
The inspection was part of the government to ensure that imported frozen food products passed the quality test to determine if it’s fit for human consumption.
“Protecting our consumers remains a priority of the bureau. We can ensure to put a stoppage to these nefarious activities by apprehending
individuals and groups through well planned and coordinated inter-agency operations,” he added.
