(Photo from the official page of the DA-IEO)
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Smuggled and expired frozen agricultural products worth P35 million were seized by the Department of Agriculture - Office of the Assistant Secretary for Inspectorate and Enforcement (DA-IE) during an operation in Meycauayan Industrial Subdivision's warehouse, City of Meycauayan, Bulacan on Tuesday, July 11.
The operation was in line with the directive of President Marcos to strengthen the DA's fight against agricultural smuggling.
During the raid, the DA-IE was joined by the Bureau of Customs, Meycauayan village officials, members of the Armed Forces of Philippines (AFP), the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Seized were volumes of rotten frozen meat products, including pork feet, lamb, and chicken skin, from two makeshift cold storage facilities in the warehouse.
Prohibited frozen meat products from Germany and India were also found. Additionally, evidence of repackaging of the spoiled meats was discovered. A thorough investigation is underway on the repackaging operations.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary James Layug, who heads the DA-IE, stressed that the DA will ensure that the storage warehouses used in the smuggling will be shut down while its owners will be held accountable for trading smuggled agricultural commodities.
Layug said food safety remains to be one of the DA’s major concerns and selling smuggled meat and fishery products in the market poses a danger to public health.
According to Richard Rebong, BOC intelligence group chief, they learned from reliable sources that before repackaging the expired meat, they are washed thoroughly to remove the freezer burn marks, repacked, and given a new expiration date.
Based on the status of the meat products, they are no longer safe for human consumption because the meat was imported from the said foreign countries since 2021 and 2022.