Nkwanta North Assembly gets slaughterhouse
The Nkwanta North District Assembly in the Oti Region has inaugurated a modern slaughterhouse at Kpassa to improve meat hygiene, safety and sanitation in the district.
It also handed over a tricycle van to aid in the delivery of meat to customers.
The intervention, undertaken in collaboration with the Member of Parliament for Nkwanta North, is expected to address longstanding concerns over poor meat handling, unhygienic slaughter conditions, and unsafe transportation practices that expose residents to foodborne diseases and other health risks.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic Online at the ceremony, the District Environmental Health Officer (DEHO) for Nkwanta North, Kojo Nsoh, stated that the slaughterhouse and meat delivery van would now serve as the only approved facility for slaughtering, processing, and transporting meat for sale within the district.
Handling protocols
He explained that some butchers in the district failed to observe proper meat handling protocols before transporting meat to markets for public consumption, thereby posing serious health risks to residents.
“For years, meat processing and transportation in Kpassa have been carried out under poor sanitary conditions, with meat transported on open tricycles and motorcycles without proper covering or preservation,” he stated.
According to him, the practice exposed meat to dust, flies, heat and contamination before it reached consumers, increasing the risk of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and typhoid fever.
Mr Nsoh warned that butchers who failed to comply with regulations and guidelines on meat hygiene would face legal action, adding that no butcher would be permitted to sell meat from unknown sources unless the meat had been certified healthy and fit for human consumption.
“Any meat or animal killed for human consumption must be wholesome and healthy for the body,” he stressed.
Mr Nsoh disclosed that although the district had more than 10 recognised butchers, the conditions under which some animals were slaughtered and processed remain a major concern.
The District Chief Executive for Nkwanta North, Isaiah Kudjoe Dordoe, said the projects formed part of the Assembly’s broader efforts to strengthen environmental sanitation, protect public health and improve food safety standards in the district.
He noted that maintaining proper hygiene in meat processing and transportation remained critical in preventing disease outbreaks and safeguarding the health of residents and urged butchers to maintain the slaughterhouse and delivery vehicle properly to ensure their long-term benefit to the community.
The Member of Parliament for Nkwanta North, John Oti Bless, described the intervention as a major step towards protecting consumers and improving livelihoods in the district.
Beneficiaries, including butchers and meat vendors, commended the Assembly and the MP for the intervention, saying the slaughterhouse and delivery van would help reduce post-slaughter losses, improve hygiene standards, and increase public confidence in meat sold within the district.
