Consumers are more cautious when buying pork instead of boycotting it.
(Baonghean.vn) - As of March 11, African swine fever has spread widely in 13 provinces and cities across the country. Although Nghe An has not yet had an outbreak, consumers are still worried. However, instead of boycotting, consumers are more cautious when choosing to buy pork and pork products.
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| Without boycotting pork, consumers should be more careful when buying meat with clear origin and quarantine. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Pork is a familiar dish, often present in the daily menu of families and restaurants. Ms. Nguyen Thi Bui, a resident of Dong Vinh Ward (Vinh City) said: "Pork is an easy-to-cook dish, suitable for all family members. Now that there is an epidemic, although I am very hesitant to buy pork to prepare dishes, if I don't eat pork, I don't know what else to eat. I just hope that the authorities will do a good job of quarantine, ensuring that the pork in the market is healthy and disease-free."
Not only housewives are apprehensive, restaurant owners are also quite careful when choosing pork for their daily menu. Mr. Nguyen Huu Tuat, owner of a popular restaurant in Dung town, Thanh Chuong, said: "Pork is cheap and most suitable for popular rice menus. In recent days, when information about African swine fever spread in provinces and cities, some diners "avoided" ordering pork in their meals, but most still chose pork as the main dish. Now when going to the market, you have to order meat from acquaintances, with proper quarantine stamps. Many households in rural areas even contribute money to "touch" pigs to ensure safety."
Some schools in the province that organize boarding for students have also "removed" pork from the daily menu with the reason: "African swine fever is complicated, so the school has stopped processing food from pork and replaced it with other food sources."
However, in reality, all meat trading activities at traditional markets are still taking place normally even though pork prices have decreased and consumption is slower.
It is worth noting that consumers have been more careful when choosing to buy pork products; choosing to buy at reputable addresses, with quarantine stamps, clear origins or buying at clean food chains, supermarkets; avoiding buying at floating retail points...
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| According to the recommendations of medical experts, pork to eat during the epidemic period needs to be carefully processed, ensuring hygiene, avoiding eating raw salad, eating nem chao, pig's blood pudding... Photo: Thanh Phuc |
According to health experts, African swine fever cannot be transmitted to humans, so consumers should not be afraid or boycott pork products that are safe, disease-free, and hygienically processed.
In principle, all types of meat from diseased livestock, poultry, and seafood must be destroyed to avoid spreading the disease. Therefore, consumers need to stay calm, follow the instructions of the authorities, and receive official information instead of unverified information on social networks and then worry too much.
Currently, the provincial authorities are strengthening the control and prevention of epidemics, preventing the smuggling of pigs from epidemic areas, so consumers can rest assured, especially when buying food that has been quarantined and has a clear origin.