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ARE YOU BEING BUTCHERED?

B360
B360 October 17, 2016, 12:00 am
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A report on the fresh meat business which relies on trust but is full of malpractice of selling low quality meat that can damage your health. What is the government doing about it? Why are safety and hygiene practices being compromised? 

On July 19, a video went viral on social media sites uploaded by Kantipur TV and other online news portals forcing the viewer to question what s/he was eating and the standard of hygiene while producing animal meat. Sujan Chhetri, 23, could not go a day without enjoying a plate of hot buff momos, but after the news, he has gone off buff meat and is contemplating going vegetarian. 
The video was about an inspection of a slaughter house in Satungal led by Supplies Minister Ganesh Man Pun. The absolute lack of cleanliness, infected and rotten meat across the floor, maggots, and live buffalos in poor health condition were explicitly depicted in the video. The owner of the slaughter house was taken to the local police station where he signed an agreement to dispose off the decaying meat and to improve standards of hygiene. 
Safety and health and hygiene standards are at very low levels in the country, and when it comes to food that general people consume, it could lead to manifold health hazards including food poisoning and even death. 

 

When the regulator turns mute spectator

In 1999, Animal Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act was introduced to check adulteration in meat and meat products with regular inspections of slaughter houses and meat processing units. But the government failed to implement the law. According to the if a slaughter house or meat shop failed to meet the standards, the business license would be suspended or revoked. 
According to Keshab Prasad Premy, Director General of the Department of Livestock Services (DoLS), most slaughter houses in the valley are being operated as a traditional occupation. This is despite the fact that Kathmandu is a major consumer of meat products. 

 

According to the market-led Quality Meat Production and Processing study conducted by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in 2010, the average per capita consumption of meat (buff, mutton, chicken and pork) in Kathmandu is 16 kg every year.
Consumption of meat in Kathmandu is very high when compared to the other cities of the country. The valley consumes 350,000 kgs of meat (includes fowl, buff, pork and goat) every day and this consumption increases by 40 percent during the festive season. 
Premy shared that traditional slaughtering techniques, unsafe transport system, and lack of refrigerated vans for transport of meat, among others have been identified as major problems in supplying hygienic meat to consumers. Some months ago, a market monitoring team mobilised by the government found slaughter houses operating in extremely unhygienic conditions and supplying rotten meat in the market. Abundant supply of water is fundamental for slaughter houses and ideally it should be located away from residential area which is not the current case in the Kathmandu Valley. 


The Animal Quarantine Posts inspecting cattle brought to Kathmandu for the purpose of meat supply through entry points of Thankot and Sanga are insufficient according to Premy. He feels strongly that additional animal quarantine posts need to be established and their capacity should be strengthened. The Animal Quarantine Post check whether the cattle are healthy. 


Government’s initiation to develop slaughter houses and meat marts 


The government has now taken the initiative to develop at least two slaughterhouses in the outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley by allocating funds in the budget of this fiscal 2016-17. For this, the private sector and cooperatives can obtain government’s grant to develop the slaughterhouses. The DoLS will extend a grant of up to Rs 60 million to the developer on instalment basis, according to Premy. The slaughter houses developed under the grant assistance must have capacity to slaughter 300 cattle each day. As per DoLS, a well facilitated slaughterhouse of this capacity can be developed at a total cost of around Rs 120 million. 
The government is encouraging people who are already in this traditional occupation like the members of Khadgi Samaj in Kathmandu to avail of the grant. The developer however will be required to meet all the criterias set by the government. 

Similarly, DoLS is also offering a grant of around 70 percent of the total cost for developing 20 meat marts in this fiscal year. Those who sell over 200 kgs of meat a day can apply for the grant assistance to upgrade their meat houses. 
The DoLS can provide up to five million rupees for each meat mart that meets the set criteria of availability of refrigerated van to transport meat from slaughter houses and deep freezers to store meat. The meat marts should be clean, meat storage area should be covered by glass to prevent contamination from dust and flies and meat must be stored in freezer. Cutting instruments should be properly cleaned after use.
Hari Kumar Shrestha, Chief of Urban Health Division of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) shared that they are planning to upgrade the slaughter houses being operated outside the Kathmandu Valley in this fiscal year and have allocated Rs 50 million for the purpose. 
Some well-facilitated slaughter houses are already in operation in the country. A large scale slaughter house operated with Chinese investment in Sunsari district has been established to export meat to China. Another slaughter house has been established in Hetauda Industrial Estate. However, due to lack of requisite cattle, these slaughterhouses operate for only a few months in a year. 


Standards for slaughter house
According to DoLS, to be recognised as a slaughter house the operator must meet the minimum standards set by the department. It must have free flow of clean water for washing and disinfection. It must also have a large enough area to accommodate cattle. Cattle must be checked properly for health. The slaughter house should have sufficient rooms to carry out the different operations to avoid cross-contamination. They must have facilities for disinfecting tools with hot water supplied at not less than 82 degree centigrade. Similarly, they must have facilities for washing hands of staff engaged in handling exposed meat. There must be adequate refrigerated storage systems for consumable meat and separate facility for meat declared unfit for human consumption. Transportation of meat to sales point must be in refrigerated vans.


Monitoring system
The market monitoring team from the Department of Supply Management and Consumer Protection (DoSMCP)—the government’s authorised market monitoring body is supposed to conduct regular and scheduled monitoring of the market including meat shops to safeguard consumers from the unethical practices prevalent in the market. However, only monitoring is insufficient to ensure the supply of hygienic meat. The whole chain - production, supply and distribution - need to be carefully observed till it becomes a regular practice.  
Consumer rights activists are stressing the need for a proper market monitoring mechanism to be put into place. Sting media operations and haphazard monitoring not only makes the entire process ineffective but can create loopholes for malpractice and corruption.

 

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