Do Luong: Are concentrated slaughterhouses "covered up"?
(Baonghean) Since 2002, implementing the Provincial People's Committee's policy on building and developing centralized slaughterhouses, Do Luong district has established 19 slaughterhouses in communes and towns. However, after many years of operation, these facilities have been in a state of "shelving" because slaughterers do not comply with regulations on bringing livestock to centralized slaughterhouses, leading to a lack of control and quarantine of food hygiene and safety.
(Baonghean) Since 2002, implementing the Provincial People's Committee's policy on building and developing centralized slaughterhouses, Do Luong district has established 19 slaughterhouses in communes and towns. However, after many years of operation, these facilities have been in a state of "shelving" because slaughterers do not comply with regulations on bringing livestock to centralized slaughterhouses, leading to a lack of control and quarantine of food hygiene and safety.
Before 2002, livestock slaughtering in Do Luong was concentrated at the slaughterhouse in Dong Son commune. Due to difficulties in transporting livestock from purchasing households to slaughterhouses, the People's Committee of Do Luong district opened slaughterhouses in communes and towns. Trang Son commune is one of the leading communes in building concentrated livestock slaughterhouses in Do Luong.
The old slaughterhouse in Trang Son commune has been converted into a trading place.
construction materials
Since 2004, the commune has granted land to an individual to build two slaughterhouses, each costing over 60 million VND. However, these slaughterhouses only operated for a few years and then had to almost stop operating. Mr. Luong Van Toan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Trang Son commune, admitted: "In the first years of implementation, most households that slaughtered livestock complied with the regulations of bringing livestock to these slaughterhouses for disease inspection and slaughter. However, after a while, they did not bring their livestock to these slaughterhouses because it was both costly and time-consuming to transport the livestock for slaughter."
According to statistics, up to now, out of a total of 19 kilns built in Do Luong area, 2 kilns have changed their purpose of use; 12 kilns have had to temporarily stop operating in the communes: Da Son, Minh Son, Dang Son, Trang Son..., only 5 kilns are still operating including: Thuong Son 2 kilns, Bai Son, Hong Son and Giang Son Dong. Although they are said to be operating, through our survey, the activities at some of these slaughterhouses are always in a state of "sometimes there is, sometimes there is not". The slaughterhouse of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam in hamlet 7, Dong Son commune used to be bustling with people trading in pork lining up to wait for slaughter. Currently, her family's kiln can only slaughter 3 pigs, and at peak times on holidays and Tet, it can slaughter less than 7 pigs.
Mr. Vo Dinh Khoa, Head of Do Luong Veterinary Station, said: "In 2011, the total number of livestock brought to the slaughterhouse was 7,200 pigs and 1,800 cows. The reason why centralized livestock slaughtering has not been effective in the past time is because in some communes there is no strict management from hamlet to commune, many units still assign the whole task to specialized teams or veterinary departments, while the veterinary force controlling these slaughterhouses is still thin."
The shutdown of centralized slaughterhouses has made it very difficult to manage, quarantine livestock, and check food safety before selling to consumers. Currently, livestock and poultry meat sold in most markets do not have food hygiene and safety quarantine stamps.
Huy Phong
