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Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has reiterated that it's safe to cook and consume pork from hogs that are infected by African Swine Fever (ASF) . 

"We have learned from 2019 ito ‘yong masyadong strikto (this was a very strict phase), we have come to understand ASF as a disease," Tiu told reporters in a chance interview Monday, Aug. 12 on the sidelines of the agency's 2025 budget hearing, 

"Pwede naman ‘yan lutuin. Ibang bansa nga meron silang processing plants for infected animals para lutuin at ilata kasi safe naman eh," said the Cabinet official. 

(You can cook that. In other countries there are even processing plants for infected animals for the purpose of cooking and canning since it's safe.) 


Laurel gave this reassurance amid the outbreak of ASF in at least eight municipalities in Batangas. He says the disease is pretty much contained within farms and has not affected the entirety of these municipalities. 
 

READ THIS:

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/14/european-country-that-eradicated-asf-offers-help-to-ph

The Philippine government is set to launch an aggressive inoculation campaign against the dreaded ASF, which practically has a 100 percent mortality rate in hogs. 

The existing practice involves the mass culling all pigs from an ASF-infected farm, even if just a few animals are infected. The carcasses are then buried. 
 

"For nationwide, to be ready we need 600,000 [ASF vaccines]. So we're procuring emergency 10,000 kasi municipalities lang ito eh (because this is only for municipalitie). 

"But may kasunod na procurement for 60,000 kasi kailangan may buffer stock tayo na naka-ready na i-implement sa labas sa mga red zones," Laurel explained. 

(But we will subsequently procure an additional 60,000 because we need a buffer stock ready for implementation outside the red zones.)