April 1, 2013

A five-tonne consignment of frozen Australian meat that arrived on Saturday (Mar 30) was destroyed by Bahrain authorities.

It was seized at the airport by health and veterinary officials after the 267 carcasses of sheep were found to be dangerous for human consumption, according to the Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry.

The Bahrain Livestock Company, which imported the meat, has been referred to the Public Prosecution for legal action, Under-Secretary for Legal Affairs and Marine Resources Shaikh Khalifa bin Isa Al Khalifa said. "This is not the first time that the company has imported rotten frozen meat," he said.

However, the company said the meat got spoiled in transit due to delays at Dubai airport. A consignment arrived on time from Australia on Friday (Mar 29) but the other one, which had to be routed through Dubai, was delayed there and reached Bahrain only Saturday (Mar 30), said chairman Ibrahim Zainal.

The company cannot be held responsible as such factors are out of its hands, he pointed out. Meat consignments from Australia, Ethiopia or Pakistan are flown in via other Gulf countries as there are no regular direct flights between exporting countries to Bahrain, Zainal said. Such incidents are likely to happen again unless import mechanisms are totally reviewed, he said.

Bahrain imports 2,000-2,500 frozen heads of sheep daily - an average of six to eight shipments per day - as a result of a ban on Australian live sheep, he added.