Food is a nutritious substance which is required to maintain life and growth. The availability of safe food improves the health of people and is a basic human right. Safe food contributes to health and productivity and thereby, facilitates development and poverty alleviation. Food can be rendered unsafe by harmful contaminants. Health risk posed by microbial pathogens and potentially hazardous chemical contaminants in food is an ever-increasing concern. According to World Health Organization (WHO), food and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases are leading causes of illness and death in less developed countries, killing an estimated 2.2 million people annually. Diarrhoea is the most common symptom of food-borne illness, but other serious consequences include kidney and liver damage, brain and neural disorders, and death.
Food safety depends upon every person in contact with the food from the farm to the dining table. No matter how effective one segment in the food chain is in ensuring a safe food product, that effort can be compromised by another segment. Therefore, municipal, district, state and national governmental agencies are responsible for overseeing food production, distribution, procurement, and preparation to assure that food made available to consumers is safe.
Meat has traditionally been viewed as a vehicle for a significant proportion of human food-borne disease. Even during biblical times, it was recognized that the meat of animals dying a natural death were not fit for food, for the Bible says ‘You shall not eat anything that dies of itself’ (Deuteronomy 14:21). The meat industry is therefore, the most highly regulated of all food industries in the United States of America. No fewer than nine federal agencies serve as ‘watchdogs’ to assure meat presented to consumers is wholesome and safe. The Food Safety and Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (FSIS-USDA) is the public health agency which administers a comprehensive system of inspection regulations to ensure that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome and correctly labeled and packaged. The U.S (Federal) meat inspection program began in 1891 when congress passed a general Meat Inspection Act, providing for the inspection of cattle. Later, the Federal Meat Inspection Act was passed in 1906, requiring the inspection of livestock and their carcass. In addition, processed meat, as well as meat equipment and facilities, were required to be inspected.
In countries such as Denmark and the USA, food inspection has long been carried out entirely by members of the veterinary profession. In the UK too, conforming to EU regulations, meat inspection, including pre-slaughter (ante-mortem) inspection of food animals, and the (post-mortem) examination of organs and dressed carcass are carried out by the official veterinary surgeons under the centralized control of the Meat Hygiene Service, a government agency.
Office International des Epizooties (OIE) is the World Organization for Animal Health created by the International Agreement of 25 January 1924, signed by 28 countries. In May 2004, the OIE totaled 167 countries, India is also amongst them. During the 73rd OIE General Session in May 2005, the Terrestrial Animal Health Code which contains health measures in the form of standards, guidelines and recommendation, has been formally adopted. A ‘Guidelines for the slaughter of animals for human consumption’ is also cited in the Terrestrial Code.
In 1963, the sixteenth World Health Assembly approved the establishment of the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/WHO Food standards Program, with the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) as its principal organ. The objective of Codex is to develop standards for food, protecting the health of the consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade. Codex has elaborated many international standards on food safety, and often Member States have used these in national legislation. FAO have also published in 1994, a Manual on meat inspection for developing countries. More recently, during the 28th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in July 2005, the ‘Code of Hygienic Practice for Meat’ was formally adopted. This contains the General Principles of Meat Hygiene and the Principles of Meat Hygiene applying to- primary production; animal presented for slaughter; establishments, facilities and equipment; process control; and many other such Principles.
In India, the issue of meat hygiene has not been seriously addressed. This may be attributed to the fact that the dominant people are mainly vegetarians. Various states of India, excluding Nagaland have their own Act on cow slaughter but these deals mainly on prohibition of cow slaughter. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001 legislated by the Central Government, though basically a regulation for animal welfare has, however, rules for sanitary measures in a slaughter house. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has formulated certain standards for processed meat but these are completely voluntary.
In Nagaland, in spite of the fact that almost cent percent Nagas are non-vegetarians, there is no Act/Regulation pertaining to meat hygiene. Even the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001 is yet to be enforced. The Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001 empowers the Municipalities for regulation of slaughter houses/meat shops. However, the Act permits regulation based on a ‘as he thinks fit’ criteria {ref. Section 387(1); Section 403 (2)} and not based on a frame of reference. Further, the Act {Section 453(1)} directs the Chief Officer of a Municipality to make provision for inspection of animals intended for human consumption but fails short in specifying the competent inspection authority or the basis for inspection.
Presently, meat inspection is being carried out at some places of Nagaland by the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department. However, with not much support from the general public, and having no legal power to set and enforce regulatory meat hygiene requirements, the department can not do much.
Today, we Nagas are excessively dependent on imported livestock and poultry products to meet our food requirements. We in general, are least bothered about meat hygiene- the microbiological hazards and the hazardous chemical residues (viz. environmental pollutants, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones & growth promoters etc.) that may be present in the meat of (imported) livestock and poultry. We overlook the fact that consumption of food contaminated with chemical can affect health after a single exposure or through long term exposure. Could this be the reason for the increasing incidence of alimentary tract disorders, renal disorders, cancers? We need to realize that food safety is equally important for an American, a British or a Naga- after all, we are all Homo sapiens. So, if we desire a healthy and productive Nagaland; if we contemplate intensive livestock and poultry farming to meet our growing domestic needs; and further, if we envisage exporting our livestock and poultry products; then, a comprehensive meat hygiene program is a necessity.
The purpose of a meat hygiene program is to provide consumers with sound, safe, non-adulterated meat; to identify disease problems in producer flocks and herds; to provide data on disease occurrence in animals; to prevent the introduction of exotic animal diseases; and finally, to provide producers and operators with the potential for export of meat products. Therefore, a meat hygiene program needs to be regulated by a competent authority.
Looking at the implementation of meat hygiene program in various countries, it is seen that such programs are regulated by Law. As such, Nagaland should also consider enactment of a Meat Inspection Act which states the general purpose of the legislation and contains definitions; prohibitions; regulation making powers for the competent authority and various administrative provisions, including powers of inspection, seizure, detention and forfeiture; and also penalty provision for contraventions of provision of the Act and the Regulations. Further, under the Act, necessary standards, guidelines and regulations needs to be framed based on the Codex Code of Hygienic Practice for Meat and OIE’s Terrestrial Code.
Dr Lanu Jamir
M.V.Sc (Vet. Pathology)
Dr. H. Inato Jimomi
M.V.Sc (Public Health)
