By Priscah Awino,

Meat buyers in Kisumu city have petitioned the local public health departments to close down a butchery located in downtown Kisumu over what they term as “vending of unhygienic beef and mutton” causing spread of various diseases among the consumers.

The Asian owned butchery, known as Karsons is being accused of displaying beef and mutton without proper cover on their shop usually along the roadside in Kisumu’s Kamas area.

“They have not made proper arrangements to save the meat from dust and insects,” Farhat Abbas, a buyer who is forced to purchase this type of meat for his family complained.

Investigations at the butchery revealed that the management sells unhygienic water-filled meat putting people’s health at risk.

A worker at the butchery tipped the Weekly Citizen that they are under instruction from the management to fill unhygienic water through jugular vein in slaughtered animals to earn maximum profit.

A source at the Kisumu Municipal Council public health department said they had noticed that the meat seller is involved in this illegal and immoral practice with the aim to increase the weight of meat and its look. “They fill unhygienic water in slaughtered animals in place of blood which discharges at the time of slaughtering”, said the source.

“An animal weighing 50 kilograms contains five kilograms of blood, which is discharged at the time of slaughtering. But Karsons butchery is accused of allegedly injecting water through jugular vein which makes meat unfit for human consumption”, he said.

He said that meat dealer was committing this ‘heinous crime’ because there is no check on butcheries and private slaughters in the city. They are taking full advantage of this lapse on part of concerned authorities. “Bacteria attacks unhygienic water-filled meat and it starts permeating bad smell after some hours.

He said that unfortunately most people do not know the fact that water-filled meat is dangerous for them. “They buy meat and keep it in refrigerators, which ultimately cause many stomach-related diseases among consumers,” he said.

The officer said:  “There are only two quality control inspectors in the city. There should be at least five inspectors for such a big city”.

District Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. Akula said that the water-filled meat could create dangerous abdomen-related problems in the human body like gastro and dysentery. The deadly bacteria fast attacks unhygienic water-filled meat, which could be dangerous for human health, he said. He urged people to boil meat and cook it properly. “Avoid storing meat in refrigerators and instead use fresh meat,” he suggested.