Mangaldan holds pork salu-salo
TO COUNTER SWINE FLU SCARE
MANGALDAN–Local officials here, home of one of only three Class AA slaughterhouses in the province, led some 5,000 townsfolk in a shared meal of pork dishes to counter prevailing misconceptions about “swine flu” and the H1N1 virus.
“We would like to regain the confidence of the people in the safety of meat coming here and hopefully sales in the meat section will perk up again,” said Mayor Herminio Romero.
Romero said the municipal government was prompted to sponsor the event, together with meat vendors and other concerned sectors, after the number of pigs butchered in their slaughterhouse decreased by more than 50% from 250 to only 80 a day following reports of the spread of the influenza A (H1N1) virus, which was mistakenly labeled as swine flu in the beginning.
The reduced meat demand and sales has been going on for three weeks, causing worry among pig raisers, vendors, and the municipal government.
Mangaldan supplies pork not only in Pangasinan but in San Fernando City (LU) and Baguio City.
Romero said he hoped the pork salu-salo will help reassure the public about the safety of pork meat, adding that their meat inspectors make sure that quality standards are maintained.
“It was like a grand wedding in the barangay,” said Romero, adding that people from the community helped in preparing the typical Filipino pork dishes such as lechon, afritada, adobo, patatim, and embutido, among others.#
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