The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation plans to inspect meat shops in the city regularly to ensure that meat, kept for more than six hours after slaughter, was not being sold.
“A veterinary surgeon will inspect meat shops and those found selling meat more than six hours after slaughter will be served closure notice,” Corporation Health Officer R.S. Gopakumar told The Hindu on Tuesday. He said meat vendors would be apprised of the rules at a meeting to be held on Wednesday, and regular inspections would be carried out from Thursday onwards.
The Corporation’s stringent rules concerning meat sales had triggered a controversy after some shops at Idiyangara market were forced to shut down. The vendors protested, alleging that the rules were illogical and affected their business. However, the Health Department maintained that meat got stale six hours after slaughter, and since slaughter took place early in the morning, the meat should not be sold after 2 p.m. It has directed the shops to keep the meat properly refrigerated if they are to be sold six hours after slaughter.
“It is pointless to insist that business should not be carried out after 2 p.m. Most meat business happens in the evening,” said IUML councillor C. Abdurahman.
Meanwhile, Corporation health standing committee chairman K.V. Baburaj said the civic body was not against the sale of meat in the afternoon if the slaughter was carried out later in the day, thus preventing the meat from turning stale.
KVASU’s advice
The Corporation has sought the advice of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) in Thrissur. “If the shop owners have any complaints about our inspections, the samples can be collected and sent to the university to determine how old the meat was,” said Dr. Gopakumar.
“Meat shops have been permitted to conduct slaughter and sale of meat in the afternoon during the upcoming Ramzan season,” he added.
