Stakeholder Urges Butchers In Dodoma Capital City To Improve Sanitation In Service Delivery -

By Staff Writer, Dodoma

DODOMA-based butchers proprietors and servants have
been challenged to adopt use of modern and recommended –healthier facilities for
carrying meat in order to ensure for safety of the popular consumed culinary
item.

Despite being the country’s capitals, harboring high-profile
government officials and other dignitaries from various international organizations and traders, it has been unveiled that most of the butcher’s
servants are entertaining unprofessional tendency of carrying meat in their shoulders,
or sometimes heads, from the meat vans to their respective selling points.

The tendency, according to the relevant experts,
puts the meat consumers at numerous health risks, and far above, it tarnish the
good image of dispensation of the vital human
health sector in the capital city.

The director of the Talibo Traders Company LTD Nyama
Pori, Mr Nelson Talibo urged the Livestock Ministry to immediately take proper measures
to improve the unwelcome situation.

“Carrying meat
for human consumption in shoulders and heads doesn’t reflect the recommended
health principles and thus, it is incumbent for the responsible authorities to
work on sober ways to end the weak tendency for the sake of the consumers,”
he challenged.

Echoing more observations, Mr Talibo spoke over the
need for the servants at all butchers to regularly go for health check-ups to
prevent themselves from possible disease transmissions in order to also prospecting
the larger population of meat consumers.

Together with that, he urged the butchers owners to improve
sanitation in their services delivering points (butchers), including ensuring
their workers are provided with the tailor-made uniforms and other necessary
gears.

WEAKNESSES
IN MEAT SECTOR IN TANZANIA

It appears that the meat sector in Tanzania,
starting from cattle slaughtering, meat selling and preparations faces are
number of shortfalls.

For instance, recommended standards pertaining to livestock
slaughtering for human consumption (the Animal Disease Act (2003), directs
that, all animals meant for public consumption supposed to be slaughtered at
the regional abattoir, or any other available formal area which can allow
examination for users’ safety.

But this has not been the case always with the meat
sellers as there exists some of them who are selling the meat which has not
been passed through any professional examination.

These, are those who are slaughtering the cattle in
their homes and marketing it directs to the consumers, or sometimes to the
owners of the public butchers.

Moreover, the relevant directives also directs that,
the butchers must be equipped with a professional chiller room whereby after
being slaughtered the meat is placed in the room for at least 24 hours in order
to abide with the recommended standards before being released for consumption.
This is also not the case among nearly at all butchers.

COMPLEXITY
IN PORK SELLING

Call it whatever you wish, pork, swine, or the
popular Kiswahili nickname of ‘Kitimoto’, but the meat is attracting thousands
and hundreds of consumers, but unfortunately, it selling is gripped with a lot
of uncertainty and possible health risks.

According to the high-profile veterinaries, pig meat
comprises of high concentration of tape worms, and thus if consumed unchecked it
may triggered to severe negative health impacts.

Consuming the meat with tape worms at certain cyst
stage (cysticecus cellulose) is very dangerous as it can damage human brain
system and thus, propels to serious mental illness.

But despite of such serious health precautions, it
is very rare to find a certified pig slaughter house across the country’s
regions and larger cities.

Fueling worse in the sector, the experts alerted
that some of the pig meats are being marketed and slaughtered while under the
drugs dozes.

“Principally, animals under drugs dozes must stay
for at least 14 to 30 days to allow drugs residues before being slaughtered and
consumed. Therefore, you can see how it is important for any meat to be
inspected and certified before going into the consumption markets,” expressed
of the experienced veterinary officer.

Coming to to zoonosis diseases, he added” “We can lose a lot of people if the
relevant authority will remain inactive,”

Zoonosis are those diseases and infections naturally
transmitted between people and vertebrate animals.