Working conditions and public health risks in slaughterhouses in western Kenya

Abstract

BackgroundInadequate facilities and hygiene at slaughterhouses can result in contamination of meat and occupational hazards to workers. The objectives of this study were to assess current conditions in slaughterhouses in western Kenya and the knowledge, and practices of the slaughterhouse workers toward hygiene and sanitation.MethodsBetween February and October 2012 all consenting slaughterhouses in the study area were recruited. A standardised questionnaire relating to facilities and practices in the slaughterhouse was administered to the foreperson at each site. A second questionnaire was used to capture individual slaughterhouse workers’ knowledge, practices and recent health events.ResultsA total of 738 slaughterhouse workers from 142 slaughterhouses completed questionnaires. Many slaughterhouses had poor infrastructure, 65% (95% CI 63–67%) had a roof, cement floor and walls, 60% (95% CI 57–62%) had a toilet and 20% (95% CI 18–22%) had hand-washing facilities. The meat inspector visited 90% (95% CI 92–95%) of slaughterhouses but antemortem inspection was practiced at only 7% (95% CI 6–8%). Nine percent (95% CI 7–10%) of slaughterhouses slaughtered sick animals. Only half of workers wore personal protective clothing - 53% (95% CI 51–55%) wore protective coats and 49% (95% CI 46–51%) wore rubber boots. Knowledge of zoonotic disease was low with only 31% (95% CI 29–33%) of workers aware that disease could be transmitted from animals.ConclusionsThe current working conditions in slaughterhouses in western Kenya are not in line with the recommendations of the Meat Control Act of Kenya. Current facilities and practices may increase occupational exposure to disease or injury and contaminated meat may enter the consumer market. The findings of this study could enable the development of appropriate interventions to minimise public health risks. Initially, improvements need to be made to facilities and practices to improve worker safety and reduce the risk of food contamination. Simultaneously, training programmes should target workers and inspectors to improve awareness of the risks. In addition, education of health care workers should highlight the increased risks of injury and disease in slaughterhouse workers. Finally, enhanced surveillance, targeting slaughterhouse workers could be used to detect disease outbreaks. This “One Health” approach to disease surveillance is likely to benefit workers, producers and consumers.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3923-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Potential risk factors associated with carcass contamination in slaughterhouse operations and hygiene in Oyo state, Nigeria

“…Due to absence of or insufficient meat inspectors in most of the slaughterhouses, most of the operations and slaughtering activities are carried out without proper supervision, which is contrary to the recommended regulations (Komba et al, 2012;Cook et al, 2017). This prevents thorough ante-mortem inspection, which is essential for preventing the slaughter of sick animals, post-mortem inspection for detailed carcass and organ examination to detect signs of disease; and facility and hygiene inspection to detect flaws in operational hygiene.…”

“…The major cause of meat contamination has been attributed to poor hygiene and sanitation (Adeyemo, 2002). The drafting and preparation of this slaughterhouse hygiene and sanitation checklist was drawn from previous slaughterhouse-related studies in Africa (Cook et al, 2017;Okike et al, 2011), experience from slaughterhouse hygiene and operations in Nigeria, and recommendations for improvement on existing hygiene and structures.…”

“…Also, the major challenges of handling animal by-products, waste products and slaughterhouse effluents have been implicated in environmental pollution of sources of water around slaughterhouses (Koo et al, 2013). The polluted water, whose quality has been compromised, will ultimately contaminate carcass/meat during processing (Adeyemo, 2002;Cook et al, 2017). Previous studies in Nigeria, published between 2001 and 2016 have shown that contamination of carcass/meat at the abattoirs constitute 37% of the mode of transmission of the identified abattoir zoonoses in slaughter animals (Fasanmi et al, 2017a).…”

Presencia de factores de riesgo asociados a la diseminación de brucelosis al humano en unidades procesadoras de leche y mataderos de la provincia Manabí, Ecuador

“…Las deficientes condiciones constructivas, la mala higiene y bioseguridad de las instalaciones de los centros que se dedican a procesar alimentos, pueden constituir un serio riesgo para contaminación de estos por agentes patológicos y presentar un riesgo ocupacional para los trabajadores que laboran en los mismos (Cook et al, 2017).…”

Ethnography of the slaughterhouse: A case of Nanyuki slaughterhouse in Laikipia County, Rift Valley, Kenya

“…Singh et al (2014) regard a slaughterhouse as a facility where animals are butchered or killed for consumption as food products. In addition, Cook et al (2017) view a slaughterhouse as a place where animals are slaughtered for food, mainly meat. GOK (2012) defines meat as any portion which is intended for human consumption, whether fresh, chilled or frozen or otherwise processed by any means whatsoever.…”