What to look for during Meat Inspection to prevent Foodborne Diseases

In poor developing communities, livestock serve many functions including supply of food, fibre and draught power, income generation and enhancement of social status. The relationship among animal-source foods and human nutrition and health is complex and involves both positive and negative trade-offs and outcomes.

The positive outcomes are mostly through their addressing malnutrition by supplying the essential nutrients that are lacking in plant-source foods. Foods of animal origin are rich in energy, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin B-12, riboflavin, vitamin A and conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) that are bioavailable.
These nutrients are an essential part of a healthy diet and, in some cases, foods of animal origin are the only sources of these nutrients yet they are also associated with high foodborne diseases which some of which are acute and have high mortality with over 21 burden of diseases.

Based on the premises that handle the meat,  inspection for these products is key before we consume them as they are associated with zoonotic diseases as listed below.

• Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
• African swine fever (ASF).
• Rift Valley Fever, Rabies.
• Botulism.
• Tuberculosis.
• Brucellosis (contagious abortion, Bang’s disease)
• Anthrax.

Different physical and chemical changes need to be noticed while buying the meat from the different premises and below are some of the important things to look for before you purchase meat.

• Smell:  Perhaps the quickest way to know if your meat is over the hill is to consider how it smells. Spoiled meat will have a distinct, pungent smell that will make your face scrunch up mainly due to microbial activity.
• Texture: In addition to an unpleasant scent, spoiled meats can be sticky or slimy to the touch due to formation of a slime layer which looks bad.
• Colour: Rotten meats will also undergo a slight change in colour. Iif any of your meat turns green or a greenish-brown colour, Muscle tissue should not be dark-red as this is a sign of malignant edema.

Following the above guidelines, we shall be able to avoid consumption of contaminated beef which is a source of foodborne diseases and hence improving on the public health of the population.

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