Nghe An does not have a centralized slaughterhouse for livestock and poultry according to standards.
(Baonghean.vn) - Nghe An currently has 822 animal slaughterhouses, but according to the standards issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2017, no facility is qualified to slaughter animals centrally.
Only 170/822 establishments have Business Registration Certificates
Nghe An currently has 822 livestock and poultry slaughterhouses. According to the old regulations, there are still 41 centralized slaughterhouses that meet standards (have business registration certificates; certificates of veterinary hygiene conditions; have veterinary staff to control slaughtering).
However, according to the regulations in QCVN 150:2017/BNNPTNT (Circular No. 13/2017/TT-BNNPTNT dated June 20, 2017) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development "National technical regulations on veterinary hygiene requirements for concentrated animal slaughterhouses", there is no concentrated animal slaughterhouse in the whole province that meets the standards.
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Small slaughterhouse in Nghi Phu commune (Vinh city). Photo: Phu Huong |
According to Mr. Ngo Duc Quynh - Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, concentrated animal slaughterhouses in Nghe An province do not meet standards because they do not meet the requirements on location, distance from residential areas, approval authority... In particular, out of 822 existing animal slaughterhouses, only 170 have Business Registration Certificates.
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A slaughterhouse in Long Xa commune, Hung Nguyen district had to stop operating due to inefficiency. Photo: Phu Huong |
“The construction, development and maintenance of concentrated animal slaughterhouses is very difficult due to many reasons. Since 2012, the province has developed a Plan and has had support policies. However, the results have not met the requirements; many facilities have been invested with billions of VND but have only been in operation for a short time due to the small number of animals brought in for slaughter, not enough to cover the costs of maintaining operations,” said Mr. Ngo Duc Quynh.
Many potential risks
In fact, the slaughter of animals in Nghe An still has many shortcomings, posing many potential risks to the health of consumers as well as the prevention and control of livestock diseases. The implementation of food safety supervision for animal products and sampling for testing is not regular.
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Poultry is slaughtered at the market with many shortcomings in hygiene and food safety. Photo: Phu Huong |
Although some establishments have committed to implementing groups of criteria to ensure veterinary hygiene and food safety, they still make mistakes such as: Recording, keeping records, books on information on the origin of imported animals, animal owners, phone numbers, animal status... and exported animal products are still sketchy and unsystematic; cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization of the production environment have not been performed on a weekly basis.
The waste collection and pest control systems are not yet complete, and slaughtering is mainly done on the floor, not hanging. Most establishments do not have regular health check-ups for owners and workers directly involved in production.
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Livestock slaughterhouses pose many potential risks to people's health and disease prevention and control in livestock farming. Photo courtesy of Quang An |
According to statistics from the Nghe An Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, every day in the province, about 25,000 livestock and poultry are slaughtered (more than 200 buffaloes and cows, more than 4,000 pigs, more than 20,000 poultry and more than 200 goats). Of these, only less than 7,000 are controlled for slaughter. The number of small-scale slaughterhouses is too large and scattered, while the veterinary staff is too "thin", causing many difficulties for the control of animal slaughter in the area.
According to Decision No. 5008/2012 of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee approving the Planning of concentrated livestock and poultry slaughterhouses in the province, the target is that by 2020, the province will have about 125 concentrated livestock and poultry slaughterhouses. This is an important policy to strengthen the control of livestock and poultry slaughter; ensure food hygiene and safety and prevent epidemics. However, up to now, the whole province has only 41 concentrated animal slaughterhouses (according to old regulations); and according to the regulations issued in 2017 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, no facility has met the conditions to be a concentrated animal slaughterhouse.
