Tuesday, March 11, 2014

TFDA closes 34 illegal meat shops in Dar

TFDA Public Relations Officer,Gaudensia Simwanza.
Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) this week ordered 34 meat shops in Dar es Salaam to stop business for operating contrary to rules and regulations.

Last month the authority conducted a survey and realised that most meat shops in the city were operated in poor environment, being a threat to the health of the public.

Gaudensia Simwanza, TFDA Public Relations Officer, said mid this week that in the operation 207 meat shops were inspected, adding  that 100 butcheries were in Kinondoni Municipality. Twenty-eight and 79 butcheries were in Temeke and Ilala municipalities.

Speaking in a telephone interview Sinwanza said: “Meat should be sold in safe, quality and effective environments. But some of meat shops use pieces of timber on which to cut meat, which is not hyperemic enough.”

“We are still educating stakeholders in the eastern zone to abide by rules and regulations of distributing and selling meat to consumers. The inspection was aimed to improve the standards, though some owners are still cutting meat on timber.”

 “I encourage the public to purchase meat from shops that cut meat using machines… they will be on the safe side compared to those using pieces of timber,” Simwanza added.

For their part, owners who did not reveal their names said they used timber because they lacked enough capital to purchase modern machines. “It is because we don’t have enough capital that’s why… in case we get such capital we will buy modern machines for cutting meat.”

Meanwhile, on February 20 this year TFDA also closed major market in Moshi after discovering that it operated below the required standards; mainly because it was dirty.

On March 1, the authority also closed 50 butcheries in Kilimanjaro Region for operating illegally; giving them 16 conditions, one of them  being they should be use air conditioners in their premises.

“We are still planning to evaluate all meat shops in the eastern zone regions of Lindi, Mtwara, Morogoro and Coast since we want to strive for quality in the pursuit of protecting public health and environment, ” she said,

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