The health implications of insanitary slaughter houses

Introduction

A slaughter house is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products. Slaughter houses which process meat not intended for human consumption (for example aged horses for their skin and hides) are sometimes referred to as knackers’ yards or knackeries (Kean, 2008).

In Nigeria, more than a five billion animals (cows, pigs and goats) are slaughtered every year in various slaughter houses across the country for human consumption. Slaughtering animals on a large scale poses significant logistical problems and public health requirements. Public aversion to meat packaging in many cultures influences the location of slaughter houses. In addition, some religions stipulate certain conditions for the slaughtering of animals, for example, hala for Muslims and kashrut for Jewish communities. Both religions require that the animals being slaughtered should be conscious at the point of death, and such animals should not be stunned prior to killing (Nyinah, 2007).

There have been criticisms of the methods of transportation, preparation, herding, and killing of animals within some slaughter houses, and in particular of the speed with which the slaughter is sometimes conducted. Investigations by Animal Welfare and Animal Rights Groups have indicated that in some cases, animals are skinned while still conscious. This is opposed by Animal Rights Groups on ethical grounds.

Slaughter houses have existed as long as there been settlement so large for individuals to rear their own stock for personal consumption. The safety of meat in the Nigeria market particularly those slaughtered locally has been a source of concern over the years (Nyinah, 2007). Olayide, (2005) said that the assessment of the standard of abattoir in or society cannot be over emphasized. It will equally interest the public to know the most of the facilities used in abattoir are unsatisfactory, and there is no provision of slaughter slab, or drains which channels the waste water to public sewer or soak away pit. In an ideal situation, wholesome water is needed for washing, maintenance of the premises but reverse is the case. Water drawn from streams and unsanitary wells which are commonly used contaminate the meat product.

Most of slaughter house are sited in the centre of the cities instead of the outskirt of the town, thereby creating an environmental problem and the people living in such area are exposed to communicable disease and other health related problems such as odour nuisance causing discomfort to the occupiers or public.

Conceptual framework

Slaughter house started as an open air slaughter insider cities which later produced very substantial concerns about public health, moral and aesthetics. This antipathy toward slaughter house is mentioned at least as early as the 16^th century. In the 19th and 20^th century, slaughter houses were increasingly sited away from the public view (Fodeke 2007).

In recent years, Animal Rights Groups and some vegetarians accused slaughter houses of secrecy and have tried to highlight that the practices carried out inside slaughter houses was partly to expose and correct alleged inhuman treatment of animals or unhygienic standards of the slaughter houses to encourage people to inform themselves about the unhygienic and inhumane process of meat production in the slaughter houses with the hope of making people to choose a meat-free diet thereby reducing meat related diseases (Dharmendra, 2005).

In London, the slaughter houses developed an adjunct of the city. Early maps of London show numerous stock yards in the periphery of the city where slaughtering of animals occurred in the open air slaughter house (Dharmendra, 2005). Kean (2008) stated that the term for such open air slaughter house is “shambles”. On the same vein, there are street name “the shambles” in some English town (e.g. Worcester, York) which got their name from having been the site on which butchers killed and prepared animal for consumption.

Variation in the regulation of slaughter houses

The standards and regulations governing slaughter house vary considerably around the world. In many countries the slaughtering of animals is virtually unregulated by law (Lucas & Gilles, 2007). However, it is often strongly regulated by custom and tradition. In the non-western world, including the Arab world, the India subcontinent, etc. both forms of meat are available which is produced hygienically in modern mechanized slaughter house (Dharmendra, 2005). Grandin, (2011) observed that religious laws and tradition control the slaughtering of animals in many communities. These require that animals to be slaughtered should be conscious at the point of death.

Standard set by existing law on slaughter houses

According to the Delta State Laws on Abattoir Operations (2006) the following measures must be strictly adhered to by slaughter houses:

1. All water used on any regulated premises (abattoir inclusive) shall be obtained from a source approved by a heath officer.
2. The occupied or proprietor of any regulated premises (e.g. abattoir) should obtain a license from the council.
3. That no person who is suffering from any communicable or infectious disease shall be permitted to slaughter an animal.
4. The law prohibits the slaughtering of animal without license and recommends that all meat of any animal slaughtered must be inspected by the heath officer.
5. It also directed that all equipment used should be cleaned and that all liquid and solid waste must be disposed as directed by the health officer.

Structure and equipment of a standard slaughter house

There are different designs or construction of an abattoir. It is usually owned by an individual (private) or by the government. Public Abattoirs irrespective of who own it, the United Nation (UN) Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Council of Agriculture [BAQC] (2011) stated that an abattoir must be built and maintained by its owner in the manner as specified below:

1. Plan building: The materials used for the construction of abattoir building should be impervious, easy cleanable and resistant to wear and corrosive. The materials such as wood, plastic board, and porous acoustic type board, which are absorbent and difficult to keep clean, should not be used (BAQC, 2011).
2. Ceiling: Ceilings should be of the height of 5 metres or more for work rooms and so far as structure conditions permit, ceiling should be smooth and flat. The ceiling should be constructed of Portland cements plaster or cement asbestos board with joints sealed with flexible ceiling material and finished so as to minimize condensation and accumulation of dirt. The walls above glazed types portion and ceiling should be painted with water resistant paint to maintain them clean (BAQC, 2011).
3. Floors: The floor shall be non-absorbent and non-slippery with rough finish and shall have suitable ingredient for drainage.
4. Interior walls: Interior walls should be smooth and that construction made of imperious materials such as glazed brick, glazed tile, smooth surface, portable cement plaster, or other non-toxic, non-absorbent material applied to a suitable base. Walls should be provided with suitable sanitary type bumpers to prevent damage by hand truck, carcass shanks, and like. The Wall should have washable surface up to the height of 2 metre from the floor so that the splashes may be washed and disinfected (BAQC, 2011).
5. Doors: Doors should either be of rust resistant metal construction throughout or if made with rust resistant metal having tight soft wood, they should be clad on both sides with soldered or welded seams. Doors shall be clad with rust resistant metal securely affixed so as to provide no crevice for dirt or vermin and the juncture at which the door joins the walls should be effectively sealed with a flexible sealing compound (BAQC, 2011).
6. Screens and insect control: All windows, doorway and other openings that may admit flies should be equipped with effective insect and rodent screens.
7. Window ledges: Window ledges should be sloped 45 degree to promote sanitation and avoid damage to glass in windows from impact hand, truck and similar equipment.
8. Lightening and ventilation: Unrefrigerated work rooms should be provided with adequate direct natural light and ventilation or simple artificial light and ventilation by mechanical means. Uncoloured glass having a high transmissibility of light should be used in skylight and windows. The glass area should be approximate one-fourth of the floor area of a workroom and such ratio should be increased where there are obstructions, such as adjacent building, which interfere with the admittance of direct light and flow of ventilation.
9. Drainage: All parts of the floors where wet operations are conducted should be well drained and as far as possible and drainage inlet should be provided for each 3.7 metre square of floor space. A slope of about 20 mm per metre to drainage inlets should be provided for usual conditions and it should be ensured that the floor slopes uniformly to drains with no low sort, which collect liquid (BAQC, 2011)
10. Potable water supply: A sufficient, safe, portable and constant supply of fresh water should be available at adequate pressure through the premises.
11. Rodent proofing: Except in case of solid masonry walls constructed of glazed tile, glazed brick, and the like expanded metal or more mesh not exceeding 12.5 mm mesh should be embedded in walls and floor.

Slaughter house process

The slaughter house process differs by species and religion any may be controlled by religious law such as Kosher and Hala laws. A typical procedure followed by the largest slaughter house in the world which is operated by the Smith Field Packing Company in Jarhe, North Carolina, which is capable of butchering over 30,300 cattle a day, should serve as a standard or procedures to follow. According to Smith Field Packing Company Procedures (2010), the processes are:

1. Animals are received by truck or trail from a ranch, farm or feed lot and headed into holding pens. In the pen, animals received a pre-slaughter inspection.
2. Animals are usually rendered unconscious by stunning or “knocking” using various methods including the use of captive bolt pistol, breaking the animal’s neck or applying an electric-shock to the animal’s temples (each of the flat parts at the side of the forehead). Livestock are also rendered unconscious by CO₂ stunning and by live fire (used at the small locker plants) this step is prohibited under strict application of Hala and Kashrut Codes.
3. Animals are hung by their legs on the processing line, then an artery is cut, then the animals blood drains out and it (lies (Alternatively, this step can be carried out on a metal tray before the animal is hung on the process line). The hide/skin/plumage is removed. At this stage, the carcass is inspected and graded by a government inspector (Environmental Health officer or veterinary Doctor) for quality and safety.

Therefore, the offal (internal organs) are removed and inspected for internal parasites. The viscera (guts) are separated for inspection, tongues are dropped or removed from the head and the head is sent down, the line on head hooks for inspection. The carcass is cut apart and the body parts separate. Thereafter, the meat is quickly chilled to prevent the growth of micro-organisms and to reduce meat deterioration while the meat awaits distribution.

The remaining carcass may be further processed to extract any residual trace of meat; usually termed mechanically recovered meat used for either human or animal consumption. Waste materials are sent to rendering plant. The waste water generated during slaughtering process and cleaning of the slaughter house should be heated in a water treatment plant, then the meat is transport to distribution centres that distribute to local retail markets.

Causes of poor/insanitary condition of slaughter houses

According to Ademosun (2008), the following points can lead to poor standard of slaughter house:

1. Lack of government approval: To ensure that abattoir carry out their activities in a hygienic and sanitary condition, the occupier or proprietor must comply with the set standard for abattoir operation which include obtaining a license from the council and also ensure that no person who is suffering from any communicable or infectious disease be permitted to slaughter animal. But today, because of lack proper supervision, most abattoir owners allowed any kind or persons in the slaughtering of animals and also involved in killing immature animals which is unlawful for human consumption.
2. Lack of provision of slaughter slabs: The absence of slaughter slabs in the abattoir lead to the slaughtering of animals on insanitary materials on ground or floors. This is will act as a source of contamination to the meat thereby resulting to disease transmission to consumer of sand entry or coming in contact with the meat on flies infestation will be present.
3. Bribery and corruption on the part of inspection/approval: In the inspection/approval of the abattoir by the environmental health officers, they are being influence by the packages given to them such as money, drinks, and even meat, by the meat sellers/owners of abattoir. This will make them hot to carry out proper inspection on the meat thereby leading to sales of deadly and diseased meat to consumers and in the aspect of construction and approval they go away without saying anything or taking any action
4. Lack of adequate supply of wholesome water: Most slaughter houses lack of wholesome water; therefore most water that are used in washing meat product, slaughtering equipment and other activities in the abattoir are gotten from stream, river or nearby insanitary sources and such water contains pathogenic micro-organism which contaminate the meat thereby transmitting disease to consumers. Also because there is insufficient wholesome water, the meat products are not properly washed before they are sold for consumption.
5. Improper construction of slaughter house not up to standard: Most abattoirs in our society lack many facilities needed or require by public health regulations such as plans building, floor, interior walls, ceiling, windows, lodge, door, jambs, cloak room, sanitary convenience etc.
6. Lack of proper funding: Most owners of slaughter house lack enough finance to purchase equipments needed in an abattoir, buying of matured cattle from cattle market which result to killing of immature animals, maintenance and also payment. Therefore most of the activities in the abattoir are done by few workers.
7. Lack of drainage system: Most slaughter houses lack drainage systems that help to drain away waste water and blood from the abattoir environment which lead to the percolation of water and blood stains.
8. Lack of maintenance: Maintenance such as sweeping of abattoir, washing of equipments after use, washing of slaughter slab before and after used, provision of waste bin for proper collection of wastes and clearing of surroundings is not done by most slaughter houses.
9. Lack of sanitary conveniences: Most slaughter houses lack toilet and bathroom thereby leading to indiscriminate disposal of human excreta and urine resulting to infestation of flies that help to contaminate meat products; and when such meat are consumed by human, it lead to disease condition.

Health implication of poor standard of slaughter houses

Olojoba (2009) states that the following are the health implication of poor standard of slaughter houses:

1. Odour nuisance: Odour nuisance as an effect on the environment is emitted due to defective refuse final disposal methods and inadequate management of waste water which is usually characterized by stinking smell, irritation and nausea to man.
2. Insect infestation or by fly breeding: Indiscriminate disposal of solid waste (e.g. faeces) and waste water results in infestation with fly eggs and larva. Flies could perch on faeces and also thrive on food, waste or refuse and subsequently contaminate man’s food and water thus transmitting cholera, bacillary dysentery, amoeba dysentery, typhoid and paratyphoid fever, diarrhoea disease to the people living in that environs.
3. Air and water pollution: The burning of tubes and tyres as a method of killing food animals acts as a major source of toxic substance like choxins and furans which contribute to air pollution and affect life and properties. Indiscriminate disposal of waste water can pollute the soil and water sources leading to epidemic of diseases of cholera, typhoid fever, etc.
4. Rodent infestation: Rodent also know as rats e.g. rattus rattus, rattus norvegicus, musculus and rattus alexandrius strive or survive on refuse and sewage faeces in underground sewers or poor drainage construction system in the slaughter house thus transmitting diseases such as lassa fever, plague, murine typhus, rat-bite fever, trichinosis and leptospirosis, etc. to man.

Possible ways of improving slaughter houses

Gradin (2011) stated that the following are ways slaughter houses can be improved:

1. The site should be sited at least 500m away from the main building
2. There should be adequate supply of wholesome water to ensure the safety of meat.
3. Equipment such as vehicle used in transporting meat should be adequately washed to avoid contamination of meat.
4. The wall, floors ceilings, windows, doors, lighting, ventilation etc. should be provided and must be constructed to withstand and facilitate thorough cleaning and minimize contamination of products either through pests, harbouring of dirt or other physical chemical or microbiological hazards.
5. Routine examination of workers will help to improve the standard of slaughter house.
6. There should be provision of sanitary convenience such as toilet and bathroom to minimize the risk of contamination
7. There should be regular inspection of meat to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases.
8. Provision of first aid box.
9. Provision of personal protective clothing such as apron, hand gloves, boot, etc.
10. Provision of fire extinguishers.

References

Ademosun, A. A. (2008): Livestock production in Nigeria: Commission and omission. Ile-Ife: University of Ife Press.

Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Council of Agriculture (BAQC) (2011): Health inspection and quarantine control. New York: United Nations

Delta State Laws on Abattoir Operations (2006): Best Practices for Animal Handling and Stunning, Meat & Poultry, April 2006, pp.76.

Dharmendra, D.A.S. (2005). Slaughter sanitation. Luton: Apple Gate Press.

Fodeke, V. (2007): Waste management and sustainable development: Effective collaboration of public and private sector initiative. A paper presented at the National Conference of Nigerian Environmental Health Officers Association.

Kean, H. (2008). “Wild domestic animals and the Smithfield Market”. Animal rights: political and social change in Britain since 1800. London: Reaktion Books. pp 59.

Gradin, B. (2011). The design of standard abattoir. Dublin: Grasper & Smith Coy.

Hobbs, M. (2007): Food poisoning and food hygiene (1^st ed.). London: Edward Arnold.

Ismail, I. (2001): Livestock transportation and marketing in Nigeria. PHD Thesis submitted to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (Unpublished)

Lucas, A. O. & Giles, H.M. (2007): Short textbook of public medicine for the tropics (4^th ed.). London: Edward Arnold.

Maduemezie, C. (2011): Meat, Modernity, and the Rise of the Slaughterhouse. Asaba: The Pointer, 16^th May, 2011

Nyinah, J.B. (2007): The safety of meat on the Nigerian market. Lagos: Daily Graphics.

Olojoba, A.O. (2009): A functional book on millennium technology in waste management and environmental pollution mitigation. Ughelli: Ama Ohoror Printing Press Coy.

Olayide, S.O. (2005): Economics of interstate marketing of farm products. A special analysis of transportation cost. Bulletin of Rural Economics and Sociology. Vol. 15. No.6.