THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
The animal husbandry department is planning to set up centralised
slaughterhouse-cum-quarantine stations at border checkposts in the state
to keep a tab on the flow of unhygienic and stale meat into the market.
The department has already submitted a proposal to local self-government (LSG) department regarding acquisition of land for the purpose at Parassala, Kumily and Walayar.
The decision is being mooted in the wake of reports of frequent transport of innards of cattle through border towns into the markets of the state. While discussing with food safety officials the department has learnt that innards like liver and kidney of cattle are transported in an unhygienic condition, often emanating a putrid smell from them.
"At present, we don't have a proper facility to conduct a check on trucks carrying cattle for slaughtering. There are hundreds of trucks lined up and it's a tedious process to unload each of them and conduct separate inspections for presence of any kind of disease. By having a well-equipped slaughterhouse-cum-quarantine station at the borders, we can assure that only clean and disease-free meat is transported for sale into the markets," said animal husbandry department director K G Suma.
The plan is to slaughter the cattle after inspection at the border itself. Large chunks of meat will be packed in chilled boxes and transported by specially chosen contractors to different markets. Diseased cattle will be quarantined and sent back.
While cold storage will be set up at -20 degree Celsius for stocking meat at the centralised slaughterhouses, chilled containers maintaining low temperature will be used for transporting packaged meat to long distances.
"The government has already allocated Rs 400 crore for setting up slaughterhouses in panchayats and municipalities. This amount can be diverted to establish top class facilities for slaughtering at the border," Suma said.
The department is planning an elaborate workforce, including doctors and labourers, to be deployed at the slaughterhouses. "The animals need to be provided food and water, while certification has to be issued by the doctors. We will soon hold another meeting with the LSG department so that the land for the purpose is identified and acquired in the border areas," Suma said.
As per the records, 5-10 lakh cattle are slaughtered every year in 161 authorised slaughterhouses in the state. However, unauthorised slaughterhouses are yet to be audited which means that the real consumption of meat/beef would be much larger than the original estimate.
The department has already submitted a proposal to local self-government (LSG) department regarding acquisition of land for the purpose at Parassala, Kumily and Walayar.
The decision is being mooted in the wake of reports of frequent transport of innards of cattle through border towns into the markets of the state. While discussing with food safety officials the department has learnt that innards like liver and kidney of cattle are transported in an unhygienic condition, often emanating a putrid smell from them.
"At present, we don't have a proper facility to conduct a check on trucks carrying cattle for slaughtering. There are hundreds of trucks lined up and it's a tedious process to unload each of them and conduct separate inspections for presence of any kind of disease. By having a well-equipped slaughterhouse-cum-quarantine station at the borders, we can assure that only clean and disease-free meat is transported for sale into the markets," said animal husbandry department director K G Suma.
The plan is to slaughter the cattle after inspection at the border itself. Large chunks of meat will be packed in chilled boxes and transported by specially chosen contractors to different markets. Diseased cattle will be quarantined and sent back.
While cold storage will be set up at -20 degree Celsius for stocking meat at the centralised slaughterhouses, chilled containers maintaining low temperature will be used for transporting packaged meat to long distances.
"The government has already allocated Rs 400 crore for setting up slaughterhouses in panchayats and municipalities. This amount can be diverted to establish top class facilities for slaughtering at the border," Suma said.
The department is planning an elaborate workforce, including doctors and labourers, to be deployed at the slaughterhouses. "The animals need to be provided food and water, while certification has to be issued by the doctors. We will soon hold another meeting with the LSG department so that the land for the purpose is identified and acquired in the border areas," Suma said.
As per the records, 5-10 lakh cattle are slaughtered every year in 161 authorised slaughterhouses in the state. However, unauthorised slaughterhouses are yet to be audited which means that the real consumption of meat/beef would be much larger than the original estimate.
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