Recommendations and proposals for meat safety in Pakistan and meat quality in Pakistan

This articles highlights the recommendations and proposals for meat safety in Pakistan and meat quality in Pakistan. | پاکستان میں میٹ سیفٹی کے لئے تجاویز |. It is written by Dr. Arslan Ahmed and Dr. Hassan Jalal, Qualified Vets from College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jhang

Current Scenario of Meat Safety and Meat Quality in Pakistan

Pakistan has 3rd largest livestock herd but still consumer don’t have approach to healthy meat. In Pakistan, recently the cases of Haram meat including donkey and pig meat sale increases specially in big cities like Lahore etc. At small level diseased or dead animals are slaughtered and sometimes meat is adulterated with water to increase its weight. So provision of hygienic meat and Halal meat is doubtful for every consumer. So the government should take some steps to manage all these issues realted to meat safety in Pakistan.

Problems Related to Meat Quality In Pakistan and Meat Safety in Pakistan 

1. Slaughtering of dead or pregnant animals
2. Slaughtering of diseased animals
3. Adulteration of meat with water by butchers
4. Slaughtering of Haram animals like donkey and sale of its meat for eating purpose
5. No proper meat inspection
6. Improper hygiene practices at slaughter houses

Proposal for Meat Safety in Pakistan  

Main purpose is the provision of safe and healthy meat so for the decisions should be made and implemented from lowest level.

As main problems are the local butchers as when animal is near to die, the butcher of that area go and slaughter animal and sale it. Sometime even the dead animal is slaughtered and recently even the donkeys are slaughtered. These are the recommendations and proposals for meat safety in Pakistan and meat quality in Pakistan.

So

1. First of all, livestock department should announce seats for butcher at union council level and give them license and all other butchers should be banned. So when any animal come for slaughtering a Performa should be filled by the butcher about the health status of animal and these butchers will be monitored by veterinary officer of that area. So slaughtering of Halal animals only by licensed butchers under supervision of veterinary officer will be the first step.
2. As in every village, we see a lot of butcher shops with no proper hygiene so the government or livestock department should establish the licensed meat shops at union council level like UVAS MEAT SHOP to provide people with high quality, safe, hygienic and healthy halal meat. So establishment of licensed meat shops at union council level by government is second step.
3. Livestock department should make it sure that every carcass should be properly checked for the confirmation of halal meat (by anatomical differences) and proper slaughtering (proper bleeding etc.), by veterinary officer of that area. If any haram carcass is confirmed then the carcass should be condemned and meat seller should be jailed and also heavily fined. So confirmation of halal meat by veterinary officer of that area by keeping in mind the anatomical differences of different species is third step.
4. Establishment of Meat inspection laboratory at tehsil level to check any suspected adulteration (water adulteration, improper bleeding) or any disease agents.
5. Formation of a supervisory committee at district level to check either every person related to meat safety like licensed butcher, licensed shops or veterinary officer is doing his job properly. The committee should give surprise visits to analyse the performance or to keep the check and balance on every individual.
6. These steps should be taken initially but with time our government have to make slaughter houses at tehsil or district level so that all the people of that area only gets healthy and safe meat from slaughter houses. So establishment of government slaughter houses at tehsil or district level is 6th step.
7. Sting operation by police with collaboration with livestock department should be done against haram (donkey) meat sellers and surprise visits should be done by food and drug authority (FDA) especially to big hotels of cities to check the quality of meat offered to their clients.
8. Heavy fine and punishment to culprits should be made sure by government.
9. Proper sanitary measures should be done in slaughter houses.
10. The last and the most important point is the PUBLIC AWARENESS. A common man should know how to differ between halal meat and haram meat. For it our livestock department had already given instructions that whenever you buy meat and you have to confirm either it is halal or not then take a big piece of meat on your palm as bovines meat fibres are strongly connected so it will not be flabby and don’t fall or slip from palm but due to less strongly connected meat fibers of donkey meat it will be flabby and fall from palm. Also the colour of donkey meat is more purplish. So these instructions need to be shared with the common man through news channels, newspapers and TV shows.

Meat Sector Development Strategy, Meat Industry in Pakistan 

ویٹرنری میٹرز ۔۔ شتر مرغ فارمنگ کے مسائل اور گوشت کی خصوصیات سے متعلقہ روزنامہ آفتاب کی اشاعت

رائیونڈ میں میٹ پراسیسنگ یونٹس اور سلاٹر ہاؤسز کی چیکنگ، فوڈ اتھارٹی کی معیار برقرار رکھنے کی ہدایت

Editor In Chief

Dr. Jassar Aftab is a qualified Veterinarian having expertise in veterinary communication. He is a renowned veterinary Journalist of Pakistan. He is veterinary columnist, veterinary writer and veterinary analyst. He is the author of three books. He has written a number of articles and columns on different topics related to livestock, dairy, poultry, wildlife, fisheries, food security and different aspects of animal sciences and veterinary education.

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