Beef carcasses seized and destroyed
February 13, 2025 10:10 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
Compiled by Anita Roberts.
Meat inspectors recently seized and destroyed two beef carcasses from a Santo supplier upon their arrival in Port Vila, intended for shipment to a local butchery in Tanna, due to poor hygiene.
Acting Director Lindon Tari from the Department of Biosecurity (DoB), responsible for meat inspection, said they found the quality of the meat to be very poor during inspection.
“Fly eggs and maggots were present all over the carcasses, with the skin and hooves still attached. The meat showed signs of discoloration, indicating early stages of rot,” he conveyed.
“Although the meat was intended for rural butcheries, food safety remains a top priority to prevent food-borne diseases that could lead to illness. As a result, the beef carcasses were detained and disposed of.”
Acting Director Tari stressed that this situation is alarming, as the trade of local meat (bush kill meat) does not prioritise hygiene.
“At the end of the day, someone will be paying for this meat, and it will end up on someone’s plate,” he said.
The Acting Director said the Meat Inspection has been actively raising awareness about meat hygiene and safety.
He called on the Public Health, Municipal Police and ship owners to work together to improve meat hygiene during transportation.
Key measures include cleaning and sanitising cool rooms or chillers on vessels before loading, ensuring meat carcasses are properly dressed and cleaned, and suspending all carcasses with stainless steel hooks to facilitate airflow.
The measures also include maintaining a carcass temperature of 7°C, keeping doors locked until the destination is reached, and ensuring temperatures remain between -1°C and 4°C for chilled beef, and below -18°C for frozen beef.
“The DoB is emphasising that every individual has the right to safe meat, therefore, suppliers, transporters, retailers, rural butcheries have an important role to ensure everyone have access to safe meat for consumption,” said the Acting Director.
He added that any more meat found to be unhealthy will be destroyed to protect public health, similar to these beef carcasses that were dumped before reaching the butchery.
