Five tonnes of unfit for human consumption meat confiscated
Doha Municipality law enforcement officers have confiscated 5,000 kg of Australian meat “unfit for human consumption.”
The confiscation followed an inspection of a large quantity of Australian meat at Doha’s automatic slaughterhouse.
The slaughterhouse exclusively handles imported Australian sheep and has a capacity to slaughter thousands of sheep every day, Mohamed Lahdan Al Kaabi, deputy director of the Hygiene Affairs Department said.
Qatar uses two other slaughterhouses for handling livestock, sheep and goats, imported from Arab countries, and for larger animal. Slaughtering animals outside these abattoirs is not only illegal, but the authorities insist that it could be dangerous for health.
Every slaughterhouse has a veterinary unit. After the slaughtering, each animal is medically examined and approved for consumption, said Al Kaabi.
“Those that are not approved are confiscated and a certificate is issued accordingly. It is used by the supplier to receive compensation as per regulations,” he said, quoted by Qatari daily Gulf Times.
However, Al Kaabi said that imported sheep may be in good health on its arrival in Qatar, but may develop problems later due to climatic changes.
