It has recently been reported in the news that a number of cattle farmers have been subjected to praedial larceny, and further, have had their cattle, some including pregnant cows, slaughtered in their own fields and their meats/ carcasses transported elsewhere for sale, supposedly to unwitting consumers and retailers. The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) takes this opportunity to assure the Jamaican Public that there are laws and institutions in Jamaica to protect consumers with respect to food, especially meats.

The Role of the Public Health Inspector – How important is it in determining meat safety?
Some consumers, in particular, those who rear cattle for their own consumption and/or small retail sale, may think it unnecessary for a Public Health Inspector to examine and approve meat for sale to the public. To be confident however that the meat displayed on supermarket shelves, sold over the counter at small shops and wholesale meat shops or presented on your plate at a restaurant or other food establishment is safe to consume, one must come to appreciate the process through which such meat was brought before it gets to that stage in the supply chain.

Under the Public Health Act of the Ministry of Health, the Public Health Inspector’s objective is to ensure that meats are healthy or disease free (from tuberculosis or other infections) so as to prevent the transfer of food borne illnesses and infections to the consuming public. The inspector determines upon inspection if the meat and meat products have been:

• Properly slaughtered – not hanged or died from an accident, old age or disease.

• Slaughtered under sanitary conditions as stipulated under the Public Health Act (including by a licensed Butcher)

• Inspected and found free of disease and/or infection and therefore passed as suitable for human consumption.

When meat has been examined and passed, they are stamped approved by the Inspector. The stamp, which is in purple ink, bears a code and number of the Health Inspector and Parish to which they are assigned. This allows for traceability and accountability, to ensure that the inspectors are operating within the policy guidelines of the Ministry of Health.

Under the Public Health Act, selling condemned or unapproved meat is illegal. This Act simply stipulates that no one shall prepare, offer for sale or sell any meat that has been condemned by a Public health inspector as unfit for human consumption. Consumers must for their own protection, be on the look-out for instances in which condemned or unapproved meat is being offered for sale and report this to the local Parish Council, the Ministry of Health or to the Consumer Affairs Commission.
The Public Health Act further stipulates that:

Meats must be transported under sanitary conditions.
When meat is being transported the butcher must ensure that it is protected against contamination by insects, animals, wind and dust. The meat must be transported in a dust-free vehicle that is clean and in a sanitary condition. The vehicle or vessel in the case of ships must not be used for transportation of poisonous substances and should be cleaned at regular intervals. Breach of these standards is punishable by fine or imprisonment.

Meats must be stored under sanitary conditions.
Butchers must ensure that any packaging material used by them for wrapping meats enhances the keeping quality of the meat and minimizes spoilage. In order to do this, the packaging must be:

• Stored, used and handled in a sanitary manner

• Sufficient to completely surround and cover the meat and protect it from contamination

• Non toxic, that is the packaging should not be made of poisonous material

Another stipulation of the Public Health Act is that butchers should clean up after slaughtering an animal. Butchers who do not clean up after slaughtering are acting against the law. For your protection, the regulation stipulates that butchers must disinfect all equipment used in the slaughter or preparation of meat and must store the meat so as to prevent contamination and spoilage.
The Act further stipulates that persons with infectious diseases are not to handle meats.
No butcher shall offer employment to a person who has or is suspected of having an infectious disease like Typhoid, Influenza, or Tuberculosis among other diseases. This would be a breach of the regulation which can also result in a fine or imprisonment. Also, anyone who handles these meats or any other food for consumption should have a food handler’s permit.

Butchers must be licensed
It is illegal for anyone to operate as a butcher unless that person has been granted a valid license by the local board of health that is the council of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) or Parish Councils. Breach of this regulation is a criminal offence liable to a fine, imprisonment or both. In a world where everyday we have less and less control over the quality and safety of the food we eat, there is need for legislation and regulations to ensure that food is brought to consumers in the safest possible way. As consumers, we should not simply be passive bystanders; we should try to be vigilant, not only in our kitchens but as far as possible along the food chain – from production to consumption.

How do you know that your meat is safe?
The Public Health Act as well as other legislation and systems have been put in place to protect the general public from persons or businesses who wish to distribute meats procured illegally through praedial larceny or condemned by a Public Health Inspector. Consumers are advised to be vigilant and closely examine meats being offered for sale before purchase:

• Make purchases from reputable retailers.

• Look out for the Public Health Inspector’s [purple] stamp of approval.

• If the meat is deep red in colour, this indicated blood congestion which means that the animal was not slaughtered, but possibly hung or otherwise killed, for example hit in an accident or died of disease.

Tell us what issues you want addressed

Write to us at: 1B Holborn Road, Kingston 10 Or call us at: 926-1650-2 or toll free 1-888-991-4470, ask for our Information Desk