Meat spoilage a threat in Guwahati, no action from GMC

According to rules, the health of an animal to be slaughtered for meat has to be examined before killing it so as to ascertain if it is disease-free or not, and the meat so processed has to be examined again so as ensure if is free from bacteria and other germs. Who is there in the city to ascertain all these? The GMC has only three food supervisors and only one medical officer in its veteriry section, for whom this task is next to impossible.   

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 7: Meat eaters and a pescatarians (fish eaters) of Guwahati have reasons to be worried about their health. The slaughter houses, doing a roaring business in the city, and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) are not just doing them justice.

GMC and Kamrup (M) district administration have rules meant for slaughter houses and butchers, but such rules have just made the rule book thicker. The butchers and slaughter houses in the city are not following the rules, posing a serious question to public health. Are the meat sold in Guwahati free from bacteria and other disease-causing germs? 

There are only 132 licensed shops for mutton, 34 for beef, 13 for pork, 213 for chicken and eggs and 313 for fish in the city . There is only one hygienic slaughter house where meat of cut in a hygienic way in the city. This slaughter house located at Panjabari in the city is lying idle as the meat traders do not like to cut meat in a hygienic way there.  The population of the city, on the other hand, is around 10,00,000. Thus the demand-supply gap is turally yawning, and this is the reason behind mushroom growth of meat and fish shops in the city, sprang up almost everywhere. Such shops are not following any rules, nor is the GMC keeping a watch on them so as to check the condition of the meat and fish they sell. The consumers, on the other hand, are helpless. They just buy fish and meat available at their doorsteps.

According to rules, the health of an animal to be slaughtered for meat has to be examined before killing it so as to ascertain if it is disease-free or not, and the meat so processed has to be examined again so as ensure if is free from bacteria and other germs. Who is there in the city to ascertain all these? The GMC has only three food supervisors and only one medical officer in its veteriry section, for whom this task is next to impossible.   

Very important activities which the numerous slaughter houses here skip are - 

(1)    Carcass condemtion: Though meat inspection is carried out on the live animal and on viscera, the principal activity is during the carcass stage when specific abnormalities may be found, indicating that the carcass, or part of it, is unfit for human consumption.

(2)    Carcass contamition: Bacterial contamition of the carcass is a serious cause of deterioration of meat during storage. It is contributed to by having the animal come onto the abattoir floor with the hair and hide badly contamited, by careless handling of the hide and the viscera, especially the alimentary tract, contamition of the water in scalding tanks for birds and pigs, and by lack of persol hygiene on the part of abattoir workers.

(3)    Carcass dehairing: Pig carcasses are not skinned. They are scalded and the bristles and superficial layers of skin scraped off. The scalding vat can be a source of serious contamition.

(4)    Carcass differentiation: Identification of the species, sex and age of a carcass is an important function of meat hygiene because of the need to guarantee the authenticity of the description of meat at the retail point. Much of this can be done on gross examition but fil determition may require laboratory tests, especially in cases where fraudulent substitution is suspected.

(5)    Carcass dressing: Removal of the hide, appendages and viscera etc.