–M&CC urges consumers

CITIZENS who are buying meat, especially beef and pork, are being urged to ensure that they check for the municipal stamp on the package that will indicate to them whether or not it was check by the food handling officers.“We are concerned about the movement of illegal meat to shopping centres; we have been receiving reports that people are slaughtering animals outside of Georgetown and then bringing it to the city,” Town Clerk Royston King told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday.

King said the City Council is plagued with certain shortages, such as inadequate food and hygiene inspectors, which, if not addressed, will leave citizens vulnerable to unwholesome meats.

As to the unwholesome trend among some in the business of fetching meat on their backs without having a top on, King said, “This is a worrying situation, because when the perspiration mixes with the blood of the animals, this can lead to various public health situations.”

The good news, however, is that the City Council’s Public Health Department will soon begin a campaign to ensure that those who supply meat do so by the requisite guidelines. And according to King, “Those who fail to comply will be sanctioned, charged and placed before the courts. The meats will be seized and destroyed.”

Meanwhile, he said there have also been a number of reports about expired goods in the various municipal markets.

Beef, pork, chicken and fish should be stored at between 18 and 21 Degrees Celsius.