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'It's safe to eat pork': Bali launches campaign against swine fever outbreak with delicacies
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Illustration of 'balung panggang', Balinese grilled pork ribs, served as part of a meal. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he Bali administration is set to present mouth-watering pork dishes in an event held on Friday as part of its campaign to assure residents and tourists that it is safe to consume pork in the province, which recently saw the deaths of nearly 900 pigs as a result of an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.
"We will provide two suckling pigs and many other Balinese dishes made from pork," senior Bali Agriculture and Food Security Agency official IKG Nata Kesuma said on Thursday.
Read also: Bali confirms swine fever outbreak amid numerous pig deaths
Some 300 portions of the pork delicacies are set to be provided in the event. In addition, the agency will also provide non-pork dishes to cater to guests who do not eat pork.
Nata said that the event, which will take place at the agency's office, would be held particularly to remind people that they did not have to be worried about consuming pork dishes on the resort island.
He said that public interest in consuming pork had not yet been affected by the ASF outbreak, however, they decided to launch the campaign early as they were worried that the outbreak might soon cause people to feel unsafe about eating pork.
"We’re trying to minimize the impact of the [outbreak], especially to save pig farmers from greater loses," Nata said, “We are going to tell people that it is safe to eat pork, as long as it is from a healthy pig, and well cooked."
So far 888 pigs have been killed by the ASF outbreak within the last two months in Bali -- the latest province to suffer an outbreak after the same disease killed more than 50,000 pigs in North Sumatra in an outbreak that began last year.
[RA:: Read also: Bali confirms swine fever outbreak amid numerous pig deaths]
According to the agency, Badung regency recorded the highest number of deaths with a total of 598 pigs, followed by Tabanan with 219, Denpasar with 45, Gianyar with 24 and Bangli and Karangasem with one each.
Balinese authorities claim they have worked well to contain the spread of the disease as the agency recorded no more pig deaths within the last eight days.
The ASF is not a risk to human health as it is known only to infect pigs, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Chairman of Bali’s Pig Farmers Association, Ketut Hari Suyasa, warmly welcomed the agency's plan to hold the campaign event, saying "it is a great idea."
"We hope that the event will successfully spread the message to all people that pork is still safe for consumption,” he said.
Hari said that the ASF outbreak already caused the price of pigs to drop slightly from Rp 28,000 (US$2.05) per kilogram to only Rp 22,000 per kg in areas which saw the disease.
However, the price in the unaffected areas remained at around Rp 28,000, he said. “We hope that the price will not drop again."
