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Buffalo slaughterhouses in India FMD-free: Govt
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A trader slices meat into pieces at Ciroyom traditional market in Bandung, West Java. (KOMPAS/Rony Ariyanto Nugroho)
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he government has reiterated that buffalo meat imported from India is safe for consumption, despite confirming the findings of the National Cattle Board (Depernas) that India does not have foot and mouth disease (FMD)-free zones.
“The OIE [World Organization for Animal Health] has indeed not found India to be FMD-free but has acknowledged that some slaughterhouses in India have an official FMD control system, as stated in OIE’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code,” said I Ketut Diarmita, the ministry’s livestock and animal health director general, in a text message on Friday.
“So the imports are legal and safe. Even the United Kingdom and Malaysia import buffalo meat from India,” he remarked.
Veterinarians also confirmed the safety of the meat.
(Read also: More buffalo meat to enter local market)
“As long as it is meat that is imported and not live buffalos, it is fine,” said Heru Setijanto, chairman of the Indonesian Veterinarians Association (PDHI).
“But government needs to make sure it is processed correctly in the slaughterhouse and the meat doesn’t come from FMD-infected areas,” he added.
FMD is a contagious disease amongst ruminants or even-toed mammals, such as buffalo, cows, goats and pigs.
The government has for the first time in history imported buffalo meat from India to stabilize meat prices amid a beef price that has been hovering between Rp 120,000 (US$8.9) per kg and Rp 80,000 per kg.
The buffalo meat, which began to enter the country around September last year, is being sold at prices starting from Rp 65,000 per kg. (bbn)
