The National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) on Wednesday warned that pigs that died in an accident or were not slaughtered should not be eaten.
This is after residents brought home some of the dead pigs in the overturned truck in Navotas City on Tuesday night.
According to Dr. Jude Padasas, enforcement head of the NMIS-National Capital Region, pigs must first pass inspection before being eaten.
“Ang proseso kasi pagdating sa slaughterhouse niyan dino-double check ‘yan kung mayroon ibang early signs ng diseases,” said Padasas.
“‘Pag pumasok siya na ‘di pumasa, ‘di siya puwede katayan. Iho-hold muna siya or iko-condemn,” he added.
The dying pigs can go through emergency slaughter to benefit more, Padasas said.
“Pero kung namatay na po siya definitely hindi ina-advice na ipakain at ipamigay kasi walang accountability, walang makakapag-signify na ‘yong baboy is fit for human consumption,” he said.
It is said that eating a dead pig that does not pass the inspection can cause food poisoning or diarrhea.
More than 40 pigs did not reach the slaughterhouse after the truck carrying them overturned in Navotas City, Tuesday night.
Pigs that die in accident should not be eaten: NMIS
According to authorities, the 14-wheeler truck was turning at the corner of C3 and Road 10 when it suddenly overturned.
As a result, many of the hogs escaped. They immediately ran away, but the people there chased them.
A total of 44 died immediately.
The pigs came from General Santos and would have been taken to the slaughterhouse in Cavite.
Plastic barriers blocked the surviving hogs and then loaded them into rescue trucks.
According to the middleman who came to the rescue, the price of each pig was P25,000, so about P1 million was immediately lost to its supplier.
The area where the animals died has been cleaned.
There has been a shortage of pork supply in Luzon due to the effect of African Swine Fever (ASF) that killed thousands of pigs in Luzon.
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