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Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - Web posted at 7:18:29 GMT KAT destroys 355 sheep carcasses KEETMANSHOOP - The Karas Abattoir and Tannery Processors (KAT) destroyed 355 sheep carcasses on Monday after the temperature of the chiller in which they were stored rose above the required level of below seven degrees Celsius. |
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The Chief Veterinary Officer in the Agriculture Ministry Otto Hubschle in a letter to the management of KAT noted that the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) was informed on December 18 that the 355 carcasses that were slaughtered on December 14 were not stored at the relevant required temperatures after an alleged malfunctioning of the chillers in which they were stored. Hubschle noted that he was informed that there was a break of about 35 hours in the cold chain and the meat thus possess a health risk to humans because of food safety and quality concerns. A team of officials from both the DVS and KAT are said to have inspected a representative sample of the carcasses. The team is said to have found that the temperature of the chiller was above seven degrees Celsius, the fat layer on the carcasses were melting indicating exposure to warm temperatures and that a number of the carcasses had a dark colour. The official veterinarian based at KAT subsequently could not certify the mutton as meeting the required cold chain requirements as demanded by the company's trading partners and hence the Agriculture Ministry ordered that the carcasses be destroyed. "The product is not fit for human consumption and hence shall be destroyed," Hubschle noted. In another blow to the slaughtering plant, additional 260 sheep carcasses were also spoiled after the temperatures of the chiller in which they were stored also raised above seven degrees Celsius, despite the fact that the chiller in which they were kept was in a working condition. The chiller was apparently left open for dispatching causing the rise in temperatures and the carcasses were consequently moved to the malfunctioning chiller where they were kept for about two hours. The carcasses fail to meet the required specifications of the trading partners of KAT. The DVS recommended that the 260 carcasses be sold on the local market with a clear indication that the shelf life of the carcasses would be shorter than normal. Meat processed at KAT is exported to South Africa. KAT is a state of the art slaughtering plant situated some 30 kilometres outside of Keetmanshoop. Nampa |
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