Assessment of handling practices of ruminant meat in butcheries in Lira City

Abstract

Ruminants provide most of the meat consumed by communities in Lira City. It is mainly goats, sheep and cattle that are slaughtered at different slaughtering places for the supply of meat. Meat remains one of the most contaminable foods in Uganda. A quantitative study was carried out among 53 butcheries in Lira City to assess how ruminant meat is handled. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed to generate descriptive statistics using SPSS version 20. Majority 60.38% of study respondents were aged 25-35 years, 88.7% were male, 81.1% attended school, 35.85% stopped at secondary level with 43.4% that had never participated in ruminant meat handling trainings. About 75.5% had apron, 35.8% had masks, 17% had a hairnet or a cap, 62.3% took money and touched meat in the same hand, 96.2% didn’t wear gloves while handling meat and 69.8% of the respondents were observed to not be washing their hands before meat handling. Water and soap were used to clean equipment and the main mode of transportation of meat was motorbikes. In conclusion, the main actors of ruminant meat handlers in Lira City were aged between 25 to 45 years, of which the majority 67.93% were school leavers of primary and secondary levels. The study showed a combination of good and unhygienic meat handling practices in butcheries. There should be regular health education and sensitizations of butchers by relevant authorities on food safety so as to increase their level of awareness. Relevant authorities in the district should formulate and implement a policy that guides butchers to ensure strict adherence to meat hygiene.