August 3, 2010

West Jakarta clamps down on unsafe meat

The high demand for fresh meat in West Jakarta reaching 35-40 tonnes per day has prompted the municipal government to tighten the supervision on the distribution of meat and poultry in the area, with the fasting month of Ramadan already just around the corner.

The local government plans to hold raids on August 4-6, 2010, targeting meat and poultry considered unhealthy for consumption at a number of markets.

Besides holding the raids, in order to stabilise the price of meat in the markets, the local government through the agency of Husbandry and Fishery will also hold market operations at several locations.

Moreover, to ensure the availability of meat during Ramadan and Idul Fitri holidays, the government has prepared a total of 29,639 tonnes of meat to meet the needs of West Jakarta residents in the upcoming 164 days.

In addition to directly supervising the meat at markets, the Animal Husbandry and Fishery Agency also controls meat that come from outside West Jakarta. The control is done by examining the documents of the meat quality.

"Ninety percent of the meat supply in West Jakarta comes from Tangerang, Banten. The supervision will be carried out directly at Gondrong slaughtering house in Tangerang, Banten," the agency stated.

Based on local market reports, the prices of meat and poultry have slightly increased. Currently, the meat price increased from IDR63,000 (US$7.06) to IDR66,000 (US$7.40) per kilogramme; while the price of a chicken has risen from IDR20,000 (US$2.24) to IDR24,000 (US$2.69).