Understanding the livestock sector’s contribution to food and nutrition security and impacts on livelihood, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the Veterinary and Livestock Division, partnered with the Ministry of Health to host a training on best practices in healthy meat production for butchers at the St George’s Meat Market.
Acting Chief Agricultural Officer Trevor Thompson explained, “The Ministry has been working very hard over the past few years to create the environment and facilities. The opening of the refurbished facility is high on our agenda; this is why we have embarked on the training to prepare them to occupy that facility.”
Thompson says now that more information is accessible, the butchers will be able to sell meat that is richer in terms of compositional quality and palatability. He added, “we have to lift our standards. By having better quality, it means we have safer food, and it also means more income. The Ministry is here to provide that support to ensure that all of us can be proud of meat production in Grenada.”
The training is one of the mandatory requirements that butchers must complete to operate at the refurbished St George’s facility. Chief Environmental Health Officer Andre Worme who made a presentation to the group on transportation of animals and environmental health attributes, assured of the Ministry’s continued support. “We are the regulatory agency for food safety in the country, so from time to time, we will be doing the requisite inspections at the facility. We have officers who are engaged in postmortem inspection to ensure that the meat is free from diseases and safe for public consumption.”
Veterinary Officer Dr Dexton St Bernard, explained the training will ensure that “Butchers are edified on all standards for operation at the market, reducing safety concerns.”
The training on Tuesday, 7 December was conducted to reinforce, and raise awareness on important animal health practices that affect meat production. Among the areas were general animal health, preparation for market, environmental health factors, transportation of animals, value of the different meat cuts, management and calibration of scales, legislation, and mandatory occupational health and safety standards.
The Ministry will provide similar training to butchers in other parishes in January 2022. As we move into the yuletide season, consumers are urged to exercise caution and safety when purchasing meat.
Ministry of Agriculture…ensuring food and nutrition security for all
