The Consumer Protection, Competition and Fraud Repression Directorate-General (CCF) incinerated more than 8 tonnes of spoiled or expired food products, mostly pork, chicken, duck and frozen fish on February 22. The items were seized from vendors and wholesalers in markets and warehouses following a series of inspections across Phnom Penh.
CCF director-general Phan Oun told The Post that the CCF had worked with officials from the General Department of Animal Health and Production – which is under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries – to conduct the inspections.
“As a result of operations at markets and warehouses in Phnom Penh in recent days, our team identified and confiscated a total of 8,172kg of expired and potentially infected meat products. It was destroyed by fire at a landfill in the capital’s Dangkor district,” he said.
According to the CCF, the destroyed products included 1,311kg of pig hearts, 2,333kg of pig tongues, 2,170kg of chicken legs, and a large quantity of frozen duck and fish.
Separately on February 18, the CCF burned nearly two tonnes of pork found to have been contaminated with the African swine fever (AFS) virus.
Phan Oun appealed to all producers, wholesalers and consumers to follow the production, packaging and preparation guidelines set out by the relevant authorities.
He also warned those who traded in spoiled or expired food products that they would face stiff legal consequences.
Under Article 115 of the Law on Animal Health and Animal Products, the intentional import of contaminated or infected, low-quality animal products or those harmful to human or animal health carries a prison sentence of between two and five years and subject to a fine of up to 50 million riel.