Seeiso T M, McCrindle C M E
Section Veterinary Public Health, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
J S Afr Vet Assoc. 2009 Dec;80(4):237-42. doi: 10.4102/jsava.v80i4.215.
Since the closure of the Lesotho abattoir in 2003, only imported meat can be legally sold. However, it was estimated in 2007 that 80% of the meat sold at butcheries comes from informal slaughter. The aim of this study was to investigate the situation. The number and location of informal butcheries in Lesotho (n = 143) were recorded and mapped using Geographical Information Systems. Observations (photographs) of informal slaughter indicated a lack of hygiene, unskilled slaughtermen and illegal disposal of offal with possible environmental pollution. In addition, a cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the microbiological quality of meat from randomly selected carcasses (n = 237) of cattle, sheep and pigs from a sample of 44 butcheries, 4 of which were associated with registered supermarkets. As a control, samples for microbiological assay were taken from imported meat originating from carcasses (n = 20) slaughtered at a registered abattoir in South Africa. Of the 44 butcheries investigated only the 4 commercial butcheries associated with supermarkets sold imported meat only; 3 butcheries sold meat inspected at government slaughter slabs (n = 3), while the rest (n = 37) sold both imported and informally slaughtered meat. In terms of Lesotho legislation, informally slaughtered meat is only for home consumption. The bacteriological counts from all samples showed a total bacterial plate count exceeding 30 organisms per ml in contrast with the controls which all showed a count less than 5 colonies per ml. This was found for both imported and informally slaughtered meat sold in Lesotho. In addition, meat samples from butcheries showed the presence of the potential pathogens Salmonella (n = 2), Staphylococcus aureus (n = 12) and Escherichia coli (n = 15). During the study, anthrax was confirmed in 9 human patients, 5 of whom died, after consumption of informally slaughtered livestock. Although no cases of animal abuse were detected, it was considered that informal slaughter can prejudice livestock welfare. It was concluded that the current situation is not acceptable in terms of meat safety. Thus, the Veterinary Public Health Directorate of the National Veterinary Services has prioritised the monitoring of butchers, registration of slaughter slabs and a general extension campaign to improve hygiene and animal welfare standards for slaughter in Lesotho. This paper highlights the major risks associated with meat consumption without Veterinary Public Health intervention in accordance with international standards.
自莱索托的屠宰场于2003年关闭以来，仅有进口肉类可以合法销售。然而，据2007年估计，肉铺所售肉类中80%来自非正规屠宰。本研究的目的是调查这一情况。使用地理信息系统记录并绘制了莱索托非正规肉铺的数量和位置（n = 143）。对非正规屠宰的观察（照片）显示缺乏卫生条件、屠宰工人缺乏技能以及内脏的非法处理可能造成环境污染。此外，还开展了一项横断面研究，以确定从44家肉铺随机抽取的牛、羊和猪的屠体（n = 237）的肉的微生物质量，其中4家与注册超市有关联。作为对照，微生物检测样本取自源自南非一家注册屠宰场屠宰的屠体的进口肉类（n = 20）。在调查的44家肉铺中，只有4家与超市有关联的商业肉铺仅销售进口肉类；3家肉铺销售在政府屠宰场检验过的肉（n = 3），而其余肉铺（n = 37）既销售进口肉也销售非正规屠宰的肉。根据莱索托的立法，非正规屠宰的肉仅用于家庭消费。所有样本的细菌计数显示，总细菌平板计数超过每毫升30个菌落，而对照样本的计数均低于每毫升5个菌落。在莱索托销售的进口肉和非正规屠宰的肉均是如此。此外，肉铺的肉样本显示存在潜在病原体沙门氏菌（n = 2）、金黄色葡萄球菌（n = 12）和大肠杆菌（n = 15）。在研究期间，9名人类患者在食用非正规屠宰的牲畜后被确诊感染炭疽，其中5人死亡。尽管未检测到虐待动物的情况，但据认为非正规屠宰可能损害牲畜福利。得出的结论是，就肉类安全而言，当前的情况是不可接受的。因此，国家兽医服务局的兽医公共卫生司已将监测肉铺、屠宰场注册以及开展全面推广活动以提高莱索托屠宰的卫生和动物福利标准作为优先事项。本文强调了在没有按照国际标准进行兽医公共卫生干预的情况下与肉类消费相关的主要风险。
