How safe is meat we buy from butcheries?
Apr 30, 2008
THE meat inspection process is worse than it was decades ago due to decentralisation, lack of training, recruitment and facilitation of meat inspectors and consumer attitude to meat quality.
By Kwizera Musaba
THE meat inspection process is worse than it was decades ago due to decentralisation, lack of training, recruitment and facilitation of meat inspectors and consumer attitude to meat quality.
The inspection process includes ante-mortem inspection to ensure that the animal is fit with no signs of disease, followed by a physical inspection of the carcass to ensure that there are no lesions. If both stages are completed successfully, then a stamp is put on the carcass to show that the meat is fit for human consumption.
However, there are other inspectable aspects besides the basic veterinary inspection: the slaughterhouse structure, the slaughter process and correct meat storage. These are hygiene matters and are laid down in relevant legislation.
In butcheries, inspection includes the structural aspects of the buildings, procedures for meat entering the premises, meat storage and staff procedures - all aspects of hygiene in any food business. Nevertheless, it is still a legal requirement that these duties must be overseen by a veterinary officer – who must currently be a veterinary surgeon (vet).
The inspection process requires someone with a range of skills, including thorough knowledge of the relevant regulations with the ability to interpret the regulations, detect physical abnormalities in live and dead animals, training in law enforcement, and the ability to conduct a professional relationship with slaughterhouse staff.
These are not the skills of a fully trained vet. But a few vets carry out carcass inspections, preferring to leave that to meat inspectors. There is, therefore, a serious question over the role and function of a vet. Whilst there is concern about a uniform application of the existing regulations countrywide, there is little concern about the ability of existing staff to carry out the tasks.
The aim of the current meat inspection system is to protect people’s health but its scientific effectiveness has to be questioned.
There are two grades of inspectors –veterinary surgeons and meat inspectors.
Vets must be qualified veterinary surgeons, while meat inspectors are specialists with sometimes lower academic qualifications. Much of the inspection work has been carried out by qualified meat inspectors, the supervision by vets has been based on the perceived need in each slaughterhouse.
In Uganda, qualified vets are in short supply and have a wide range of highly valuable skills. It is extravagant to use vets for meat inspection when their training and vocation is to save lives and reduce suffering in animals.
There is also a huge workload at the sub-counties. Vets by training do less than 30 hours in practical meat inspection-probably less than 10 currently. Meat inspection work is understandably not popular among vets in Uganda.
We should change the interpretation of meat inspector, which requires qualifications of a vet. We should establish a new grade of staff and train experienced meat inspectors and environmental health officers and others to become public health veterinarians.
These should gradually take on the tasks of vets, thereby reducing the cost of veterinary supervision.
Many countries have abandoned the conventional system of inspection in favour of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, which highlights danger points and puts the onus on abattoir or butchery operators to ensure their production systems attain maximum food safety. This eradicates the need for many inspectors.
Significant amounts of meat processed on the HACCP system, with a token vet in attendance can, therefore, solve the shortage of vets problem.
The writer is a PhD student at the Department of Animal Science, Makerere University
THE meat inspection process is worse than it was decades ago due to decentralisation, lack of training, recruitment and facilitation of meat inspectors and consumer attitude to meat quality.
The inspection process includes ante-mortem inspection to ensure that the animal is fit with no signs of disease, followed by a physical inspection of the carcass to ensure that there are no lesions. If both stages are completed successfully, then a stamp is put on the carcass to show that the meat is fit for human consumption.
However, there are other inspectable aspects besides the basic veterinary inspection: the slaughterhouse structure, the slaughter process and correct meat storage. These are hygiene matters and are laid down in relevant legislation.
In butcheries, inspection includes the structural aspects of the buildings, procedures for meat entering the premises, meat storage and staff procedures - all aspects of hygiene in any food business. Nevertheless, it is still a legal requirement that these duties must be overseen by a veterinary officer – who must currently be a veterinary surgeon (vet).
The inspection process requires someone with a range of skills, including thorough knowledge of the relevant regulations with the ability to interpret the regulations, detect physical abnormalities in live and dead animals, training in law enforcement, and the ability to conduct a professional relationship with slaughterhouse staff.
These are not the skills of a fully trained vet. But a few vets carry out carcass inspections, preferring to leave that to meat inspectors. There is, therefore, a serious question over the role and function of a vet. Whilst there is concern about a uniform application of the existing regulations countrywide, there is little concern about the ability of existing staff to carry out the tasks.
The aim of the current meat inspection system is to protect people’s health but its scientific effectiveness has to be questioned.
There are two grades of inspectors –veterinary surgeons and meat inspectors.
Vets must be qualified veterinary surgeons, while meat inspectors are specialists with sometimes lower academic qualifications. Much of the inspection work has been carried out by qualified meat inspectors, the supervision by vets has been based on the perceived need in each slaughterhouse.
In Uganda, qualified vets are in short supply and have a wide range of highly valuable skills. It is extravagant to use vets for meat inspection when their training and vocation is to save lives and reduce suffering in animals.
There is also a huge workload at the sub-counties. Vets by training do less than 30 hours in practical meat inspection-probably less than 10 currently. Meat inspection work is understandably not popular among vets in Uganda.
We should change the interpretation of meat inspector, which requires qualifications of a vet. We should establish a new grade of staff and train experienced meat inspectors and environmental health officers and others to become public health veterinarians.
These should gradually take on the tasks of vets, thereby reducing the cost of veterinary supervision.
Many countries have abandoned the conventional system of inspection in favour of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, which highlights danger points and puts the onus on abattoir or butchery operators to ensure their production systems attain maximum food safety. This eradicates the need for many inspectors.
Significant amounts of meat processed on the HACCP system, with a token vet in attendance can, therefore, solve the shortage of vets problem.
The writer is a PhD student at the Department of Animal Science, Makerere University