The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
THIS WEEK: Arrested butcher, fish dealer arraigned before court
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Some beef lovers have been forced to abandon meat after a raid on butcheries by Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) inspection team on Dec.04 revealed that at times meat is adulterated with chemicals by dealers as a way of preserving it.
In the raid, two individuals – one dealing in meat and the other in fish were found with chemicals in bottles suspected to be formalin, a chemical used to among others preserve dead bodies.
On Dec.05, the two together with four others also suspected of spraying their meat with chemicals were arraigned before Kampala City Hall Court Grade One Magistrate Beatrice Khainza and pleaded guilty to causing a nuisance.
By Press time, the suspects who had been remanded at Luzira Prison had not yet returned for sentencing but the prosecutor revealed that they are likely to face two years imprisonment or pay a fine of not less than sh180, 000.
Although reports of butchers using formalin to preserve meat have been making rounds for long, a food scientist the Independent spoke to said it’s unlikely for the chemical to be used on things like meat because it’s easily noticeable. Meanwhile, KCCA has not yet confirmed whether it’s really formalin that is used.
