40KG stale meat and fish seized

We monitor the distribution of meat to the sale outlets and keep a check on its storage and supply to ensure compliance with health regulations.”

Mubarak Rashid Al Shamsi, director of Al Hamriyah Municipality

sharjah — Sharjah’s Al Hamiriyah Municipality has seized 40kg of stale meat and fish that were deemed “unfit for human consumption” as part of a massive crackdown on meat shops. The inspection targeted butcheries, fish markets and several other meat outlets in various parts of Al Hamriyah city.

The crackdown — carried out during the fourth quarter of this year — came in the wake of complaints from residents who voiced their concerns after they were “cheated on weight and source of meat as well as its expiry date”.

The department of public health undertook a number of inspection tours to the meat shops and outlets to ensure they adhered to safety standards, said Mubarak Rashid Al Shamsi, director of Al Hamriyah Municipality.

Al Shamsi pointed out that the municipality is working to intensify its supervision on the food, its examination and detection of anything amiss before it is sold — including manipulation and contamination. “We also monitor the distribution of meat to the sale outlets and keep a check on its storage and supply to ensure compliance with health regulations.”

The civic body has also spread awareness among the public, advising them to always check expiry dates and make sure the product is safe for consumption and meets health standards.

The municipality — represented by the public health department and the health food control division — will continue its inspection and monitoring campaigns and “spread it to every section involved in meat trade”, Al Shamsi underlined.

Some residents had registered their grouse with the municipality about stale meat being sold and other anomalies rampant in the business.

Obaid Al Kutbi, a resident of Al Hamriyah, said that he could make out the difference between Australian and Pakistani meat. “There is a shop that often sells Pakistani meat as Australian. When I argued with them about the origin of the meat, they tried to convince me that it was from Australia and denied the truth.”

Muneer Rizvi, another resident, revealed that the butcheries keep the meat bony to increase the weight, and “often manipulate the weight”.