MANILA — Mekeni Food Corp said Friday it was validating reports that some of its products tested positive for African swine fever, as it apologized to consumers for the "panic" caused by the news.

Pampanga-based Mekeni will not comment further until it receives the report from the Bureau of Animal Industry, the processed meats manufacturer said in a statement.

"For everyone's peace of mind, we are doing everything that we can to validate this issue and have full transparency on the testing procedure conducted by the Bureau of Animal Industry," Mekeni said.

"We sincerely apologize for the panic this issue has caused. Like every one of you, we care about every Filipino family that patronizes and loves our products," it said.

The reported swine fever contamination was "unexpected" given Mekeni's International Organization for Standardization certification, it said.

Mekeni president Prudencio Garcia said the facilities of rival meat processors should also be checked.

"We welcome and we encourage it na puntahan kami dito... We are available, wala naman pong problema sa amin 'yan," he said.

(We welcome and we encourage inspectors to come visit us... We are available. We have no problem with that.)

While not harmful to humans, African swine fever is fatal to pigs and some 7,000 hogs have been killed in the Philippines to prevent its spread.