Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister, special delegates from provinces and hon members, two years ago, Cape Town meat merchants were at the centre of a health row after imported kangaroo meat, which had been blamed for a number of cases of bacterial disease in Australia, had gone on sale in the city. Last year, about 500 children who were due to take part in the opening of the All Africa Games in Johannesburg fell ill with food poisoning. Doctors blamed the food poisoning on bad meat that was served at afternoon rehearsals. Last month, some farmers in KwaZulu-Natal were faced with serious problems when foot-and-mouth disease was identified among their livestock.
On 8 April 1993 the European Union banned imports of livestock, meat, milk and dairy products from 18 Central and Eastern European countries after cases of foot-and-mouth disease were reported in northern Italy. The Italians claimed that the disease was found in cattle shipped from the former Soviet Union through either Slovenia or Croatia. Under European law, if proof exists that a country has livestock that is infected with foot-and- mouth disease, import barriers can legally keep those animals from spreading their disease to the importing countries. These are just some of the reported incidents that show the risks to which consumers are exposed if there are no proper checks of the quality of meat products available for public consumption.
Since many people afflicted with food-borne illnesses assume that they have flu and do not visit the doctor, cases of meat-related illnesses tend to be underreported. The available information on such illnesses therefore represents only a fraction of the total number that occur. The fact that meat-related illnesses are underreported does not mean that the problem is not serious. Although estimates as to the prevalence and growth of illnesses attributable to unsafe meat in South Africa are difficult to assess, we cannot deny the fact that it is a reality. It is a reality experienced mostly by poor and marginalised people with lowered immunity due to HIV/Aids, pregnant women and their foetuses, young children, the elderly, the homeless, farmworkers and others of low socioeconomic status. The effects suffered by these marginalised groups can range from relatively minor discomfort to more serious symptoms and manifestations such as fever, diarrhoea, dehydration and even death.
In addition to the human suffering caused by unsafe meat and food-borne diseases, substantial economic costs are involved. They affect both tourism and trade. Already, some countries have placed a ban on the import of South African meat products after the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in KwaZulu-Natal. This places an enormous financial burden on farmers who breed livestock for export purposes. It also reduces state income which is derived from the export of those meat products. It further places an enormous burden on the country's health care system through increased hospitalisation costs. This does not even take into account the total social and medical burden placed on society by the chronic and often lifelong consequences of unsafe meat and food-borne illnesses.
Our own system for identifying and preventing illnesses resulting from unsafe meat is found in the Abattoir Hygiene Act. This Act proved to be inadequate to properly identify, track and prevent meat-related illnesses and to prevent future cases from occurring. Its primary focus was on measures aimed at promoting the hygienic slaughter of animals in abattoirs, with very little emphasis on the safety of the end products leaving the abattoirs and destined for public consumption.
This approach is primitive, compared to the international trends which are aimed at making sure that best management practices are used through every step of meat processing, from inspection of livestock before slaughter, right to the end product leaving the processing plant.
The international approach is based on the hazard analysis and critical control points standards which were developed by the American space agency, Nasa, to ensure the safety of food prepared for astronauts.
Its focus is on ensuring that food contamination risks are avoided in the processing plant and that those steps are documented. It requires meat processors to examine their procedures, determine which procedures have the potential to contaminate meat, and then explain in detail how they avoid contamination at those points.
The Meat Safety Bill seeks to achieve a similar objective. It envisages the appointment of a national executive officer who will be entrusted with the monitoring of essential national standards which will apply to all abattoirs.
These national standards provide for, among others things, the keeping of records relating to the examination and inspection of animals prior to and after slaughter; the fact that meat may only be removed from abattoirs if it is duly marked and the method of removal poses no risk to the public; the detection and monitoring of any specified substances and residues in meat products, in accordance with prescribed methods; and the fact that the abattoir must be managed in accordance with a prescribed hygiene management and evaluation system.
I respectfully submit that the Meat Safety Bill will bring our own practices in line with the international approach and will ensure that our people enjoy a healthy way of life. For this reason, the ANC wishes to add its voice in support of this Bill. [Applause.]