Alice
The Fort Portal City livestock experts have unveiled new bylaws aimed at enhancing meat safety among abattoir operators and meat sellers.
Speaking at a meeting held at Tooro Botanical Gardens, organized by Kabarole Research and Resource Centre (KRC) in collaboration with Iles De Paix, Lucy Kahunde, the senior health inspector of Fort Portal city, highlighted key provisions of the bylaws, including measures to promote sanitation and hygiene in workplaces.
The Bylaw Provisions
Kahunde, emphasized the importance of well-built metallic butcheries, daily cleaning of workspaces, washing of utensils after use, possession of government certificates of medical fitness, provision of handwashing facilities, timely arrival of livestock at the abattoir before slaughter, and the necessity of livestock movement permits for traceability during disease outbreaks.
Furthermore, she stressed the requirement for refrigeration facilities to store leftover meat for sale the following day with emphasis that starting butcheries without authorization and operating without proper licenses would not be permitted.
Dr. Stanley Businge, a production officer in Fort Portal city who has been at the helm of implementing livestock quarantine measures in the city, added that the ban on the sale of smoked meat was another measure taken to enhance meat safety.
Butchers worried over sudden increase in meat taxes
In response, abattoir operators expressed concerns about the tax burden and requested cooperation in implementing the bylaws.
Reportedly taxes on each animal to be slaughtered have been hiked to 10,000Shs almost double of what they previously paid before Quarantine .
