Swine flu scare hit market meat vendors
THE poor trade has hit the town markets due to the swine flu scare and the situation in the Lingayen market would be the norm.
Marita Manaois, president of the Meat Vendors Association in Lingayen town, said all the meat vendors suffered 40% drop in their daily sales since news of the swine flu was reported and despite the Department of Agriculture’s clarification that the situation has been contained.
Dr. Michael Maramba, Dagupan City veterinarian and P/Staff Sergeant Chris De Vera burn 40 kilos of mishandled pork seized from the Dagupan Meat Market. (Punch photo by Butch Uka)
“The hogs slaughtered in Lingayen are from Sual, Mangatarem and Bugallon, not from outside the province, so our pork are safe,” Manaois said.
However, despite the slack in demand, the price of pork in Lingayen remains at P200 per kilo.
Amy Sales, meat vendor, asserted that consumers have nothing to fear because Lingayen is swine flu-free and cited the lockdown order of the provincial government to prevent entry of hogs from other provinces ensures there is no swine flu in Pangasinan.
Meanwhile, Jason Baradi, Agricultural Technologist in Lingayen town, gave the assurance that the public has nothing to worry about because there is not a single swine flu case reported in the province.
He said to ensure cleanliness in the slaughterhouse, a regular disinfectant is performed on its equipment to comply with the rules of clean and lawful slaughter of animals. (Nora Dominguez)
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