By Leslie Ann Aquino
For safety and health reasons, overseas Filipino workers have been discouraged by a Catholic prelate from sending processed meat canned products to their families.
Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga (CBCP / NICO BALBEDINA / MANILA BULLETIN)
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People Chairman Bishop Ruperto Santos said this in view of the prevailing ban on processed pork meat products from 16 countries suspected to be affected by the African Swine Fever.
"For safety and health reasons we inform our chaplains to persuade our OFWs not to send nor bring home any meat canned goods," he said in an interview.
Earlier, the Bureau of Customs confiscated canned meat products brought home by an overseas Filipino worker from Hong Kong.
The Food and Drug Administration earlier ordered the recall of all processed pork meat products imported from China, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zambia, South Africa, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Mongolia, Moldova, and Belgium.
The African swine fever is a highly contagious haemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, but is not considered a threat to humans.
READ MORE: PH bans importation of pork meat products from nine more countries