Retail outlet, Bellevue Abattoir Butchery, has denied allegations of purchasing dead and diseased animals as perceived on social media that cheap beef is actually coming from cattle suffering from an unidentifiable infection.
The butchery claims to be abiding by regulations and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Agriculture in the Veterinary Department in a notice.
“We have measures in place that require the veterinary Department to inspect every single animal on arrival to ensure that its healthy,” the retail says.
“Each animal is then inspected by the Zimbabwe Republic Police to ensure that it travelled legally and is not stolen. Slaughter then begins after the animal has rested for at least 48 hours.”
Messages circulating on social media, urging people not to consume beef say, retails are purchasing meat from dead beasts suffering from called January disease, an east coast fever caused by ticks. The scientific name for January disease infection is theileria parva bovis.
Another message from a person claiming to be from Mhondoro says the butchers are buying beef from cattle suffering from an unknown disease, at a cost of US$20-50 a beast.
The social media reports also allege that corrupt veterinary officers are processing allowance for butchers to the sell beef from the dead beasts, endangering lives of unsuspecting customers.
Bellevue is mentioned among the retail outlets that sell cheap beef from diseased carcases according to social media messages.
Bellevue explaining the process says the Veterinary Department inspects each beast carcass to ensure the beef is fit for human consumption.
“The carcasses are then graded into various grades (Super, choice, commercial, economy, manufacture) by the designated government grader. Carcasses are marked with a roller stamp which identifies the abattoir where the carcass comes from and the grade of beef that passes through the abattoir for slaughter,” the company explains.
‘Each animal and its subsequent carcass is recorded by the Veterinary Department before leaving our premises which is all done under CCTV surveillance, of which all records are kept.”
“Furthermore, we have our own supply from our farms that feed into our abattoirs excellent quality beef that is fed for at least 90 days with highest grade of feeds.”
Reports of unethical business in butcheries appear as statistics shows that nearly 100 people were hospitalised after consuming meat from unofficial sources.
The January disease has claimed over 50 000 cattle since last year.