(Eagle News) – Even some processed meat products such as tocino, hotdog, longanisa have tested positive for African Swine Fever (ASF), according to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
The products were from a Manila-based company, particularly in Sta. Mesa Manila.
The BAI, however, did not name this company.
In a clinical laboratory report dated Oct. 15, the BAI confirmed that the three meat samples taken from the processed meat samples had the ASF virus using real time polymerase chain reaction test.
“This only proves that we should not trust the claims of processors that the ASF virus can actually be killed once it undergoes heat treatment,” said the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag).
ASF is a fatal animal disease affecting hogs.
In the Philippines, ASF had been found in seven areas in Luzon: Cavite, Quezon City, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and Rizal.
Some 62,000 pigs have already been been killed in culling operations in the country.
