GEORGE TOWN: Enforcers smelt a rat when a container with seven tonnes of “fish luncheon meat” arrived at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT).

       It turned out to be pork.

       Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services (Maqis) seized the product after investigations showed it was actually pork.

       Maqis deputy director-general Dr Azhari Sharidan Abu Bakar said they foiled the attempt to bring in a container with 864 boxes (20,736 tins) of “canned fish luncheon meat”. He said the shipment totalling 7,050.24kg of canned meat from China was confiscated in February this year.

       “The products were sampled and tested by the Malaysian Chemistry Department.

       “The import of pork from China is prohibited to prevent the African Swine Fever (ASF) from entering our country,” he said.

       He said the importing company was charged under Section 11 (1) of Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Act 2011 for importing agricultural products without a valid Import Permit from Maqis because along with the cans of “fish luncheon meat”, they also brought in nine tonnes of pork luncheon meat.

       “The cans of pork meat were worth RM453,600. The company was fined RM32,000 for the offences,” he said.

       This was the biggest seizure involving pork this year.

       “The pork industry here is worth around RM4bil and we have to be careful as ASF can cause the industry harm.

       “Usually when we seize food, we give it to the zoo, but as this pork is from China, we cannot risk it and will incinerate it at one of our facilities in Perlis or Kelantan,” he said.