KABALE RESIDENTS SHUN MILK, MEAT ON FORMALIN SUSPICION

By Vanasio Kakogoso
In Kabale–
Reports that butchers and milk sellers in Kabale district treat their meat and milk with formalin has left many consumers in the district worried.

Formalin is a liquid drug manufactured to preserve dead tissues by killing the bacterium that causes decay. It is used together with other chemicals to embalm dead bodies.

The current market price for a kilogram of beef is 10,000 shillings and goat’s meat is 12,000 shillings while a liter of milk goes for between 1300-1500 shillings.

These two products are highly perishable and this is the reason why some business people have opted to use preservatives to give them a longer shelf life.

The Butanda sub county district councilor Erick Tumwesigye Kigunzo a meat consumer, says that he is worried to consume the two products since the reports have been circulating about the use of formalin to preserve them.

He says that despite the power outrages that the district has been registering, he rarely sees milk seller dispose off spoilt milk. Tumwesigye wants the district leadership to investigate the matter, apprehend and prosecute the culprits.

The Resident district commissioner Kabale Darius Nandinda says that his office has registered concerns from public alleging that some milk and meat sellers use formalin. He says that they to hold a security meeting in this month to devise means of fighting the vice.

The Chief Administrative Officer Kabale district; Wilson Tibugyenda concurs with Nandinda that some reports have been made. He however says that he has instructed district veterinary officer to carry out daily checkup of meat and milk to avoid the use of the drugs.

The Kabale district Veterinary officer Dr. Bernard Kabagambe says formalin has a pungent smell that is detectable and if one uses it to preserve food; it will be in very low quantities that can sometimes be unnoticeable. He however says that they have never registered any carcass or milk injected with formalin.

However butchers at Kabale central market who include Samuel Kyamukama and Anthony Muhangi have denied the allegations. The butchers say that when meat spends three days in butchery, it’s condemned and donated to dogs and pigs.

Muhangi is calling upon the public to report any suspected butcher using formalin to relevant authorities for disciplinary action.

Medical reports confirms that if one frequently eats foods that are preserved with large doses of, or excessive, formalin, it will over time cause irritation to the stomach, causing vomiting, dysentery or even death.
Source: www.mknewslink.com a greater western Uganda news website
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