October 28, 2003

Philippines' San Miguel Awarded Best Meat Establishment For 5 Consecutive Years; Escalation to Hall of Fame Prestige

The Philippines' San Miguel Pure Foods Co., Inc.'s meat facilities were elevated to the National Meat Inspection Commission (NMIC) Hall of Fame for winning the National Search for Best Meat Establishment Awards for five consecutive years.

SMPFC's hall of famers include San Miguel Foods, Inc. Magnolia poultry plant in San Fernando, Pampanga which won the best poultry dressing plant and Monterey meat plant in Dasmarinas, Cavite as the best abbatoir (slaughterhouse).

The two meat facilities were each given a seal of excellence as proof of their commitment to produce safe and quality meats to the public. SMPFC stressed that despite the elevation of their two meat facilities to the hall of fame, the plants will continue to observe strict policies in production of safe and quality meats for the public.

Meanwhile, another SMPFC facility, Purefoods-Hormel Marikina meat plant also secures an award as the best meat processing plant for the second time this year.

The annual best meat establishment awards is assessed, audited and evaluated by four government agencies headed by Department of Agriculture-NMIC in cooperation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Health and Department of Interior and Local Government.

This is a first in the history of the Philippine meat industry for the DA-NMIC to certify establishments in compliance with DA Administrative Order No. 9 which mandates HACCP compliance among AAA meat facilities or meat processing facilities that can sell their products in and out of the country.

HACCP is a globally recognized set of procedures and standards for protecting the production, manufacturing and distribution of food from contaminants and other hazards that are present in the food production process. The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization have also adopted HACCP as the basic sanitary standard to be applied to food producers in every country.