NMIS Prepares Celebration of Meat Safety Consciousness Week

The National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS)7 on Tuesday said they are fully prepared for the incoming celebration of Meat Safety Consciousness Week (MSCW) to be held on the third week of October this year.

NMIS 7 Regional Director Dr. Dario Bonifacio B. Canillas said they are now enhancing the quality of all meat products in the country to be competent against global challenges in the near future.

Canillas said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic integration on 2015 would be a big challenge to all meat producers in the Philippines. He stressed that this time, the country will be receiving meat product deliveries from all ASEAN countries to compete with our local meat products.

” So it is high time now that we have to make sure we can compete them by means of having the true quality of our products, to maintain our local buyers much more on the quality of our meat to be exported to the different ASEAN markets”, he added.

With a theme “Kaligtasan ng Mamamayan at Katuwang sa Kalakalan”, the (MSCW) celebration in October 20 to 24 will be more aggressive in reminding all meat stakeholders of the region and to the whole country that they should prepare themselves to face the big challenge next year when the Philippines will be poured by various meat products coming from the various parts of ASEAN.

According to Canillas this can be done by exercising the essence of cleanliness and sanitation regardless of what category a slaughterhouse belongs, whether it is Class A, Class AA, or Class AAA.

Canillas explained that Class A, are slaughterhouses whose products can only support the needs of their community, Class AA, are meat establishments which can support the need of even the whole country, while Class AAA are meat producers who are already exporting the products.

In the meantime, Canillas pointed out that they are encouraging local meat producers to maintain the quality of their products as this is the only way they may exist during the ASEAN economic integration.

For the NMIS people, Canillas said they are entrusting to the local chief executives the implementation of more strict rules to their appointed meat inspectors to ensure safety on their buyers’ health.

According to Canillas, all municipal inspectors are required to pass the 20 day training to be conducted by the NMIS.

Their training certificates are enough to believe that they are already capable to handle meat inspections in their own locality.

On the part of meat vendors, Canillas explained, “they have also to display their “meat inspection certificate” at the wall of their stall or in any areas conspicuous to the market goers”, anytime they are displaying meat products at their table.

With the ASEAN economic integration is fast approaching, Canillas said all bad practices of unscrupulous meat businessmen such as those who still displaying “double dead meats”, can no longer exist because this highly irregular practice will surely put his life and business at stake.