526 rotten carcasses heading for Jeddah seized

IMPOUNDED: One of the trucks shipping slaughtered animals.

JEDDAH: The sub-municipality of Southern Jeddah has seized what it said 526 rotten slaughtered animals that were being taken from Makkah to Jeddah for sale. Mohammed Al-Zahrani, the head of the Southern Jeddah sub-municipality, said that inspectors seized the meat that was being shipped in 53 trucks and vehicles on the first day of Eid Al-Adha due to evidence of contamination.
Al-Zahrani said the municipality set up inspection points on all roads leading to Jeddah so they could thwart these types of illegal activities and protect the safety of all residents and visitors to the city of Jeddah. The violators of the law will be fined according to the regulatory system, which stipulates that all vehicles carrying expired meat must be impounded and their drivers fined.
The impounded meat was disposed of in the city dump in a proper manner in keeping with public hygiene. In an effort to identify violators of the public hygiene laws, the municipality has also formed monitoring groups to tour restaurants and butchers to ensure the quality of meat they receive during Haj.
The sacrificial meat must be distributed among the needy and poor people both inside and outside the Kingdom. However, it has been noted that some people pretending to be poor collect the meat from the holy site of Mina during Haj and sell it to intermediaries who then re-sell to eateries.
The majority of this meat is handled in an unhygienic manner, forcing the authorities to step in and stop this trade.
Al-Zahrani cited this incident to urge all residents to contact the municipality’s complaint number on 940 to report any violations of the law in this regard.