A PROPOSED ordinance enacting standards for the design, conduct and upkeep of meat stalls in the city’s various markets has passed first reading and is currently undergoing refinement for approval on second reading after publication.
Authored primarily by Councilor Philian Weygan-Allan, the ordinance prescribes standards for the meat stalls in the market to adhere to Republic Act No. 9296 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, Republic Act 10611 or the Food Safety Act of 2013, and the Department of Agriculture Administrative Order Nos. 5 and 6 series of 2012. All meat stalls, not just those in the city’s main public market, shall be required to comply with the required standards.
Allan also included other micro-enterprises that do not serve only meat as part of the ordinance, such as sari-sari stores and talipapas, as long as they serve meat in any capacity as part of their goods and offerings, with penalties ranging from P1,000 to P5,000 for noncompliance.
The ordinance prescribes a minimum stall size of two meters by two and a half meters, floor and interior wall or partition composition of impervious and non-toxic materials, with a minimum height of 1.22 meters for partitions and walls, without reaching up to ceilings to ensure circulation of air. It also stipulates that the stalls must have a space of 0.74 meters per customer.
The ordinance also prescribes that meat stalls should have display tables and counters made with stainless steel along with drains, with the space underneath being empty.
Under the ordinance, stalls shall also be mandated to have access to a supply of potable water, have proper sewage and wastewater disposal in compliance with Chapter XVII of the Code of Sanitation of the Philippines, including waste from toilets and urinals. Stalls should also have floor drains, grease traps and hand-washing facilities.
Provisions and standards for zoning, hygiene, electrical and lighting, solid waste management, hygiene, food handling and packaging are also included in the proposal.
All shops and stalls selling meat will be required to comply with the requirements within three years of the approval of the ordinance and subsequent implementation should it be passed.
