The Department of Agriculture issued a notice of closure to a meat supplier after the pork it sold to a supermarket in Quezon City was found positive of African Swine Fever (ASF) virus.

“It’s good to highlight that the city government of Quezon confiscated as per their monitoring pork in SM Cherry… the meat that has been found in SM Cherry was found positive of (ASF),” Agriculture Secretary William Dar told reporters in Quezon City on Friday.

“With that, we sent notice of closure to… North Star and NMIS ( National Meat Inspection Service) continued its evaluation in the company and also brought samples from all the chillers and one chiller where the source came from was the only one found positive,” he said.

It can be recalled last month Quezon City confiscated pork from SM Cherry supermarket.

When asked if SM Cherry will also be held liable, Dar said “it is the determination of the city government to pursue whatever lapses are there.”

In a statement, North Star Meat Merchants Inc. claimed that what happened on December 19, 2019 was just an isolated incident and assures that “all bio-security protocols – corrective, preventive, required and voluntary was done immediately with the supervision and guidance of the NMIS.”

“We have been working closely with the Department of Agriculture, namely the NMIS, every step of the way in implementing all bio-security protocols such as voluntary condemnation of all potentially affected products, daily sanitation of our equipment and facilities including temporary halting of plant operations for full sanitation, among others,” the company said.

“We assure the public that our company conforms to the highest and most stringent processes to ensure that the regulatory guidelines are met and followed,” it added. Robina Asido/DMS