JOHOR BARU, March 13 — The Johor chapter of the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) seized 25 tonnes of imported pork belly worth RM400,000 at the Pasir Gudang port near here yesterday.

Johor Maqis director Edie Putra Md Yusof said the pork belly, that was imported from Spain, was seized during a routine check of a shipping container upon its arrival at the port.

He said Maqis enforcement officers noticed discrepancies on the pork belly import permit after they carried out an inspection at 6pm.

"The consignment involved did not comply with the importation conditions as there were no labels placed on each package as dictated by the permit conditions.

"Each packet of meat must be labelled on each side with the importers name, address, plant number and date of slaughter,” he said in a statement today.

Edie Putra said failure to comply with the permit conditions can be charged under Section 15 (1) of the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Act 2011 (Act 728) and is punishable under Section 15 (2) of the same Act, which provides for a fine not exceeding RM100,000 or imprisonment for up to six years or both, upon conviction,

He said Maqis is committed to carrying out enforcement at the country’s entrance points to ensure that the safety of agricultural products entering the country complies with the conditions and regulations set by the government.

On February 29, it was reported that Johor Maqis seized 772 boxes of imported pork from Denmark, worth RM300,000 at the same Pasir Gudang port.

In Malaysia, most imported pork and pork products are from the Europe, with 40 per cent of the supplies coming from Spain. The Netherlands and Denmark are the second biggest suppliers of pork to Malaysia with 20 per cent of supplier share each.