Who controls the work of slaughter in Serbia – BBC News in Serbian

In the supermarket cooling showcase, the parts of pork, beef steaks and chicken in action are neatly arranged.

Behind this seemingly simple image, there is a number of procedures – animal husbandry, slaughterhouses whose hygiene is monitored by veterinarians and technologists, with regular inspections that control working conditions.

However, these procedures are sometimes not respected.

Mid-May In one slaughterhouse in Aleksandrovac, a city in southern Serbia, almost 700 kilograms of beef without appropriate accompanying documentation were discovered, and only a few days later, it was found illegal slaughterhouse Near Čačak, which is not registered for the sale of food of animal origin.

Due to non-secure food, 600 million people in the world annually, and the vulnerable groups – poor, women, children and migrants were especially affected.

United Nations 7. June marks International food safety day.

It is estimated that 420,000 people around the world die every year after eating infected food, and children are younger than five years with 125,000 deaths.

From the farm to the butcher

Especially suitable food for poisoning is animal origin, due to the spread of bacteria, especially in the summer.

Therefore, butchers and slaughterers are under the magnifying glass of the competent services.

As a rule, slaughterhouses Supervises Veterinary Inspection Whose goal is to assess whether the meat is usable for human diet.

In Serbia, the work permit has 502 large and small slaughteres, and the safety of the place is checked only by 148 veterinary inspectors, say from the Ministry of Agriculture, forestry and water management in a written response to the BBC in Serbian.

For control of meat, the monitoring of meadow products to trade chains, says Veterinar Siniša Gatarić for the BBC in Serbian.

« There are several steps – control of animal nutrition, history of their diseases, transportation of transport to slaughterhouses, as well as an overview before, after even during slaughter, » explains Gatarić.

It’s a long way of meat to the plate.

While animals live on a farm, veterinarians lead the diary of nutrition and history of the disease, says Gatarić.

« If the animal is healthy and fed as needed, to bring to depot, where vets working at slaughterhish get this information and examining animals, » he adds.

And after slaughter, additional checks are performed.

« Parts of the animal are marked with numbers so that the piece of meat comes from which animal, » he says.

When the meat once enters the processing process, the responsibility is transferred to food technologists.

« Production and technology of meat processing are demanding processes and is therefore important to the commitment of all involved in that job, » says Predrag Damjanovic technologist from Slanica « Trlić ».

Technologists follow whether the appropriate temperature is inside, as well as to respect sanitary procedures and deadlines.

« There are controls and within the slaughterhouses themselves, which is done daily, » explains Damjanovic.

Meat samples are regularly sent to the Meat Control Institute in Belgrade, where the presence of microorganisms or antibiotic remains are examined, adds.

What are the most common offenses?

The most common shortcoming in slaughterhouses is poor hygiene, indicate from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.

Damaged floors, walls and ceilings as well as non-functional equipment and tools « which are in direct contact with animals in slaughter or with raw materials, semi-finished products and products of scales, adds from the line ministry.

The problem is « unregistered workers who perform animal slaughter, as well as animals of unknown origin and health condition. »

What is HACCP?

An international adopted food safety system that prevents all potential hazards in the food production process and introduces measures for their prevention of HACCP.

It is an abbreviation of risk analysis and critical point controls (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points).

Instead of relying only to end product control, HACCP insists on control of each phase in production chain:

• Meat storage temperature
• Hygiene of workers
• cleanliness of slaughtering machine
• Method of transport to shops

In Serbia, the HACCP system is obliged to 2009. yearsfor all manufacturers and food processors.

Source: BBC

How dangerous can the meat be?

Meat inspection system is developed in the middle of the 19th century In order to detect diseases such as trichinosis that spread Europe at that time.

It is also one of the most common diseases that can be obtained from pork, says Gatarić.

« It’s a parasite that lives in the muscles of wild and domestic animals, people are infected with eating raw or insufficient heat treated, » he adds.

Symptoms are Elevated temperature, muscle aches, difficult ingestion, island of eyelids and rash.

One of the most dangerous diseases is beef Spongiform encephalopathy or a disease of crazy cows, explains the veterinarian.

It is reached if the survivors, as herbivors, introduce food of animal origin, explains Gatarić.

« That’s why the meat is tested, because that disease animals can transfer people and in them in people is manifested as a crojcfeld-Jacob’s disease, » he says.

Comes to Mixing brain functionsand the initial symptoms are insomnia, depression, confusion, behavioral changes, memory problems, vision and balance.

The first time was recorded on the farm in England in 1985. years.

« Much mainly comes to death within four to six months, » said Professor Simon Mid, Earlier for BBC.

Can he be more careful towards the animals?

Slaughterhouses are obliged to respect procedures that reduce pain, stress and suffering animals, explains Dušica Ostojić Andrić from the Institute for Livestock in Belgrade.

However, the situation on the ground is often different, it adds.

« Bad practices, inadequate training of workers, outdated equipment and weak supervision leads to everyday violation of these regulations.

« Studies show that even when all measures are formally respected, animals continue to experience a series of negative emotions – fear, frustration and feeling of helplessness, » she says for the BBC in Serbian.

The way animals are treated, « also affects the quality of their meat, » so it is often « pale, soft and broody or dark solid and dry ».

« Hormone stress, dairy acid, adrenaline all affects texture, color, pH value and flavor of meat.

« Sacrificing animals for meat production, may not be avoided, but it is important to try to make their deaths for our benefits, violent and degrading, » Ostojić Andrić concludes.

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