84 Abattoirs Shut Down Following Crackdown By Department It seems that a major chunk of the meat you buy from the various outlets in the state is not safe to eat. Nearly 84 slaughterhouses across the state were closed down following raids conducted by food safety officials last week. It is also generally accepted that scores of illegal slaughterhouses that operate at odd hours have escaped the raid. According to officials, there are only four slaughterhouses in the state that have got the mandatory clearance from the food safety authorities. They are, the ones operated by the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University at Mannuthy, Meat Products of India Ltd at Koothattukulam in Ernakulam, Brahmagiri Development Society in Wayanad and a private facility in Palakkad. Not just private abattoirs, even those run by local bodies have been closed down by food safety officials. In Kochi alone, 23 slaughterhouses, including the one operated by the corporation at Kaloor, were closed down. In Thiruvananthapuram, all six ‘official’ abattoirs were closed down. The department decided to close down the abattoirs after they failed to improve conditions even after notices were served to them two months ago, according to food safety enforcement assistant commissioner D Sivakumar. “This is the second raid in two months. None of these abattoirs have taken the mandatory food safety licence. They will be given time to improve conditions and obtain licence once they respond to the closure notice,” he said. However, many slaughterhouses that operate during odd hours have escaped the raids. “Most of them work between 1am and 4am. They also change their location frequently to evade the raids. There are still no records of the number of unauthorized slaughterhouses in the state,” said a food safety official on condition of anonymity. The official said that a minimum of Rs 25 crore is required to set up a slaughterhouse as per proper food safety norms. “Slaughterhouses must ensure service of a veterinary surgeon to conduct anti-mortem and post-mortem of the animal. The meat can be processed only after getting clearance from the veterinary surgeon,” said the official. Part IV of Schedule II of Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011 sets a 29-point regulation for slaughterhouses. According to the regulations, a slaughterhouse must have an animal holding yard, lairage, slaughter hall, side halls for hide collection, paunch collection, offals collection, and separation, holding room for suspected carcass, by-product harvesting, refrigeration room etc. “Separate space shall be provided for stunning (wherever applicable), for collection of blood and for dressing of the carcasses. The slaughtering of an animal shall not be done in the sight of other animals. The dressing of the carcass shall not be done on the floor. Suitable hoists will be provided to hang the carcass before it is eviscerated,” the rules state. FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS Raids by food safety officials lead to the shutdown Many facilities that operate during odd hours have escaped raids Slaughterhouses run with mandatory clearance run by: KVASU, Mannuthy; Meat Products of India Ltd, Koothattukulam; Brahmagiri Development Society, Wayanad; and a private facility in Palakkad 23 slaughterhouses, including one run by corporation, shut down in Kochi In Thiruvananthapuram, all six ‘official’ abattoirs closed down