JEDDAH, 24 February 2003 — The meat from more than 350 sacrificial sheep has been wasted by the Makkah Municipality because of faulty storage.
The meat was delivered to one of Makkah’s busiest pilgrim camps.
Abdullah Saed, the caterer at the pilgrim camp, told Arab News he received three consignments of sacrificial sheep which pilgrims had slaughtered earlier.
“I refused to use the meat because it was spoiled. The meat had turned green and it smelled bad. I got our vet to check the meat and he told me the cattle had probably been infected with some disease. When the meat company refused to take back the consignment, I called the municipality because I wanted to be sure that the meat would be destroyed and not used in any other camp.”
There was no proper supervision of meat processing, he added.
Mahdi Bahader, an official at the Makkah Municipality, said the state of the meat was due to faulty storage. The municipality’s vets had checked the meat and found it was not infected with foot and mouth disease, he said.
“We commend the caterer’s prompt action,” Bahader added. “It may have helped avoid a disaster.”
