Mark Titus, Enterprise Reporter

Animal remains are left unattended on the floor of the KSAC abattoir. - Photo by Mark Titus

Government has vowed to clamp down on some players in Jamaica's multimillion-dollar meat industry because of their failure to observe hygienic practices at slaughterhouses.

"In too many cases, we cannot guarantee the health and safety standards because of the present conditions of slaughter, which are not always hygienic," Dr Christopher Tufton, minister of agriculture, tells The Sunday Gleaner.

The State says it will be implementing new mechanisms to regularise these facilities, whose flouting of global codes has resulted in products prepared in substandard conditions reaching consumers.

While there are privately owned, state-of-the-art abattoirs in Jamaica that have met world food-safety standards, some local producers have shown scant regard for basic health principles.

"We are not satisfied with the state of the facilities in which meat is being slaughtered. Therefore, we will be enforcing, more rigidly, the laws of slaughter to ensure that only certified facilities are used," says Tufton.

While no time frame has been given for the new initiative to be implemented, a study, commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, is currently being conducted. The report is expected to address the weaknesses in the system, implementation of measures to enforce compliance by the operators and general health standards.

Worst of the lot

The abattoir in the nation's capital, located on Lindo Street, west Kingston, is probably the worst of the lot. This facility was opened in 1940 and was condemned years later, but was still being used unofficially over time.

In 2001, the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) leased the facility to eight butchers who formed a private company called City Butcher Ltd. Despite this divestment, conditions have never met acceptable standards; yet it continues to be the premier facility where animals are slaughtered for public consumption in the Corporate Area.

In western Jamaica, the St James Parish Council spent more than $4 million to refurbish the abattoir in the tourist capital in 2004. However, the facility remains closed, the council chairman claims, because authorities continue to move the goalpost.

"We had an arrangement to connect to the National Water Commission's (NWC) waste plant, but there were some pre-conditions set out for us to meet and each time we meet those requirements, more are added," Montego Bay Mayor Charles Sinclair explains.

According to the mayor, the situation between the local authority and the NWC is still unresolved.

"Slaughtering is done at a location determined by the person doing the slaughtering and the public health department," Sinclair says.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com