Meat sellers ordered to cover all meat including chicken on display
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Following the end of the 30-day deadline of the State Government to meat and butcher shops on September 10, the State Government has now decided to give them additional time so that they may hygienically cover all meat on display in their shops and stalls to avoid contamination of the food items.
“The State Government has no intention to immediately penalize the owners of meat and butcher shops for not complying with the directive after the end of the deadline. We understand that it would be difficult for the meat seller to put in place the necessary safety measures in such a short span of time to ensure that the thousands of meat consumers are able to consume clean and hygienic meat,” Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said here on Friday.
It may be mentioned that the Chief Executive Officer, Shillong Municipal Board, had on August 10 notified all meat and butcher shops including chicken sellers that the items of meat on display shall have to be properly and hygienically covered to avoid contamination of the food items.
“Anyone found displaying meat openly after 30 days from the date of this notice will be penalized accordingly as per provisions of the Meghalaya Municipal Act 1973 and other relevant laws,” the notification had stated.
Meanwhile, she said that the Government was looking forward to working with the meat sellers’ and butchers’ association to ensure that the consumers are able to consume hygienic meat.
“The meat sellers should understand they play a critical role to ensure the safety of the health of people who consume the meat which they put on sale in the market. We have to abide by the guidelines laid down in the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006,” Ampareen said.
She said that it was very important to take all the safety precautions especially when the State was witnessing a spurt in cases of terminal diseases affecting people across the State.
“We cannot just overlook this trend. There are possibilities that the growth in the number of terminal diseases in the State is due to our lifestyle and also due to the food we consume every day,” the Urban Affairs Minister said.
According to her, the meat sold in the market are very unhygienic since most of the meat shops do not cover the meat which are on display. “We can see insects and flies spreading over the meat especially during summer. Not only this, we would also see dust collecting on the meat; this is especially common with those meat shops located near the roadside,” she said.
According to her, this kind of unhealthy practices would have serious negative impact on the health of those people who are consuming this meat.
She further said that the Government is willing to have consultations with the meat sellers to understand their difficulties. “We are ready to provide any kind of support to ensure that people consume clean and hygienic meat,” SHE said.
Meanwhile, official sources said that this was not the first time that the Government had come up with such a notification.
“The State Government, in 2012, had come with a similar notification but the meat and butcher sellers never bothered to comply with the directive,” official sources said.
According to them, it is a sorry sight to see majority of the meat shops across Shillong city including in the outskirts like Iewduh, Mawlai, Motphran and Laitumkhrah leaving the meat out in the open for display. Official sources also stated that the consumers were also not bothered or concerned about their own health.
“As citizens, they should also raise objections and ensure that the meat is properly covered,” the sources said. They also said that the Government can conduct checking and penalize those who do not comply with the directive.
“But if the demand comes from the consumers, then the meat sellers would be left with no option but to put in place necessary safety measures. If people stop buying the meat then they will be forced to close down their shops,” the sources said, while advocating the need for awareness among the people on the importance of consuming clean and hygienic food.
“We need to understand that the Government alone cannot address this issue unless there is cooperation from the people,” they stated.
