Food safety mapping of the pork value chain in the Philippines: economic implications and policy reform directions

Food safety in pork encompasses all actions that protect the supply of pork from microbial, chemical and physical hazards or contamination that may occur during the various stages of food production, distribution and consumption. It has received increasing attention from the general public due to a best of factors: threat of food-borne illnesses, health hazards from production and manufacturing malpractices, and changing lifestyles and consumer preferences. Also, one of the ramifications in the domestic pork market nowadays is the fact that value chains are becoming longer and more complicated. This poses implications on the safety of pork in the sort-run, and on the economic viability of the swine industry in the long-run. Hence, a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the country';s swine industry specifically its logistics systems is needed to identify and address the critical control points for pork quality and safety interventions. Value chain analysis consists of a series of tasks aimed at showing first the broad picture of the chain map and then the more in-depth areas of interest of investigation of the sub-maps. A cursory glance at the supply chain reveals that there is basically a complex web of flow of pork that necessitates a strong and effective monitoring and evaluation scheme to insure pork quality and safety. This study has not only raised surveillance and diagnostic capacity in the safety of pork but has likewise deepened the understanding of the risk factors and economic consequences of food-borne diseases in the pork value chain. Since the study focused on the important stages of the value chain where food safety in suspect, central to the deliverables of the study was the construction of a network design that identified the critical intervention areas, the cost implications of food-borne disease incidence, as well as suggested strategy that UPLB may pursue to help address the issue of pork quality and safety.