ONLINE meat sellers should be held accountable.
Lilia Fermin, regional technical director of the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS)-Cordillera Administrative Region, said online meat sellers should strictly follow guidelines set by the government to ensure the quality of meat products sold.
“The guidelines of the NMIS have not changed on the handling of meat products because we follow the world standard so with or without the coronavirus or the African Swine Fever, we continue to implement the food safety process against hazards which may be biological, parasitic, chemical and others. This also covers those engaged in online selling who should have information on accountability and since Meat is perishable, it has temperature requirements,” Fermin said.
Fermin said online sellers should be informed and follow guidelines on procedure on handling, transport and distribution compliant with food safety protocols.
“Delivery vans used by online meat sellers should pass the requirement of the NMIS with or without Covid. These requirements have been present even before Covid, ASF and others viral diseases since we follow the food safety requirements. They (online meat sellers) forget there are certain accountabilities that they have to pass and be compliant of what the government requires in order to be legit distributors of meat products,” Fermin said.
In line with NMIS’s continuing commitment to ensure consumer protection, Memorandum Circular 07-2020-017 issued by Executive Director Dr. Reildrin Morales set the protocols on online meat selling to ensure public health and safety and aligned to the “new normal” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s a good thing for Baguio City because it regulated the online selling which decreased our problem but for those that who have already engaged, we are still looking for them so that we can inform them based on the guidelines that we have set,” Fermin added.
Meat sold online must be accompanied with either a Meat Inspection Certificate of Certificate of Meat Inspection as uncertified products will be considered “hot meat” and can be subjected to regulation of NMIS.