2025/07/27 by Mezgebo, Gebrehawerya Berihu, Hagos Hailemariam Shifare
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Food Safety and Hygiene #Salmonella and Campylobacter epidemiology #Food Supply Chain Traceability
paper · doi:10.71624/3v0pbb21
Promoting food safety is crucial to prevent foodborne diseases contracted through contaminated foods. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of meat safety and by product quality of value chain actors in backyard slaughtering of ruminants in Wukro town. Semi-structured questionnaire (with n = 397 respondents) was used to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices on meat safety and sanitation procedures and byproduct qualities. In relation to knowledge, 62% replied that backyard slaughtering would affect meat safety and health of society; 62% of the respondents thought that backyard slaughtering could affect the quality of hide and skin. With respect attitude, 96% of the respondents replied that they consume meat even if they knew that it was slaughtered backyard; 94% of the respondents did not ask where the meat was slaughtered before they consume it and did not object or face objection because the meat was slaughtered in backyard. With regard to practice, 96% of the respondents replied that they used backyard slaughtering. In relation to using personal protective equipment, 84%, 55% and 53% of the respondents did not use hand gloves, protective clothing and mask during slaughtering, respectively. Overall, the study revealed that backyard slaughtering was the dominant practice in contrary to utilizing abattoir for slaughter even though the community had good knowledge and understanding of meat safety and public health risks, and by-product (hide and skin) quality issues associated with backyard slaughtering as such slaughter facility was not well equipped with personal protective equipment and other facilities. Responsible authorities should undergo regular inspections and supervisions on slaughter facilities to provide safe meat for the community.