Jisha Surya / TNN
February 10, 2014
Thiruvananthapuram: No one can ensure that meat you buy for cooking is safe to eat. The Food Safety officials have closed down nearly 84 slaughter houses in the state. Only four legal slaughter houses in the state have got a clearance. Scores of illegal slaughter houses which work in odd hours have escaped the raid which held last week.
Not just private abattoirs, Food Safety officials closed down slaughter houses operated by local bodies. In Kochi alone, 23 slaughter houses, including the one operated by Corporation in Kaloor, were closed down. In Thiruvananthapuram, all 6 legal abattoirs were closed down.
Slaughter houses working under Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Mannuthy, Meat Products of India Limited in Koothattukulam in Ernakulam, Brahmagiri Development Society in Wayanad and a private slaughter house in Palakkad are the few which follow Food Safety and Standard Regulations.
D Sivakumar, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety enforcement, said that the department decided to close down the abattoirs after they failed to improve conditions after serving notices two months ago. “This is the second raid in two months. None of these abattoirs took mandatory food safety licence. They will be given time to improve condition and take license once they respond to the closure notice,” he said.
However, Food Safety officials could not cover a number of butcher shops were animals are slaughtered illegally during odd hours. “Most of these illegal butcher shops work between 1 am and 4 am. They also change shops often to evade inspection. There is still no record of the number of unauthorised butcher shops in the state,” said a Food Safety official on condition of anonymity. The official said that minimum Rs 25 crore is required to set up a slaughter houses in proper food safety standards.
“Slaughter houses must ensure service of a veterinary surgeon to do anti-mortem and post-mortem of the animal. Meat could be processed only after getting clearance of veterinary surgeon,” said a Food safety official.
Part IV of Schedule II of Food Safety and Standards Regulation sets a 29-point regulation for slaughter houses.
According to Food Safety regulation, the slaughter house must have animal holding yard, lairage, slaughter hall, side halls for hide collection, paunch collection, offals collection, and separation, holding room for suspected carcass, by-product harvesting, refrigeration room etc. “Separate space shall be provided for stunning (Wherever applicable), for collection of blood and for dressing of the carcasses. The slaughtering of an animal shall not be done in the sight of other animals. The dressing of the carcass shall not be done on the floor. Suitable hoists will be provided to hang the carcass before it is eviscerated,” the rules states.
February 10, 2014
Thiruvananthapuram: No one can ensure that meat you buy for cooking is safe to eat. The Food Safety officials have closed down nearly 84 slaughter houses in the state. Only four legal slaughter houses in the state have got a clearance. Scores of illegal slaughter houses which work in odd hours have escaped the raid which held last week.
Not just private abattoirs, Food Safety officials closed down slaughter houses operated by local bodies. In Kochi alone, 23 slaughter houses, including the one operated by Corporation in Kaloor, were closed down. In Thiruvananthapuram, all 6 legal abattoirs were closed down.
Slaughter houses working under Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Mannuthy, Meat Products of India Limited in Koothattukulam in Ernakulam, Brahmagiri Development Society in Wayanad and a private slaughter house in Palakkad are the few which follow Food Safety and Standard Regulations.
D Sivakumar, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety enforcement, said that the department decided to close down the abattoirs after they failed to improve conditions after serving notices two months ago. “This is the second raid in two months. None of these abattoirs took mandatory food safety licence. They will be given time to improve condition and take license once they respond to the closure notice,” he said.
However, Food Safety officials could not cover a number of butcher shops were animals are slaughtered illegally during odd hours. “Most of these illegal butcher shops work between 1 am and 4 am. They also change shops often to evade inspection. There is still no record of the number of unauthorised butcher shops in the state,” said a Food Safety official on condition of anonymity. The official said that minimum Rs 25 crore is required to set up a slaughter houses in proper food safety standards.
“Slaughter houses must ensure service of a veterinary surgeon to do anti-mortem and post-mortem of the animal. Meat could be processed only after getting clearance of veterinary surgeon,” said a Food safety official.
Part IV of Schedule II of Food Safety and Standards Regulation sets a 29-point regulation for slaughter houses.
According to Food Safety regulation, the slaughter house must have animal holding yard, lairage, slaughter hall, side halls for hide collection, paunch collection, offals collection, and separation, holding room for suspected carcass, by-product harvesting, refrigeration room etc. “Separate space shall be provided for stunning (Wherever applicable), for collection of blood and for dressing of the carcasses. The slaughtering of an animal shall not be done in the sight of other animals. The dressing of the carcass shall not be done on the floor. Suitable hoists will be provided to hang the carcass before it is eviscerated,” the rules states.
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