World meat industry news

All news / Uzbekistan State Veterinary Committee dispels doubts about suspiciously cheap meat imports

  • 11 Jan 2021, 12:01

In social networks there appeared posts on frozen meat imported into the Uzbek market, which is sold cheaper than domestic meat – at 40-45 thousand sums per kg. Some subscribers in the FB group "Consumer.uz" have expressed doubts about the quality of the product and which animal it derived from. The State Committee on Veterinary Science and Livestock Development has come out with formal title.

 

According to present knowledge, to ensure food security based on veterinary import requirements entrepreneurs have imported 30,0824 thousand Mt of meat.

Imports from Kazakhstan were 287,4 Mt of chilled meat of small cattle  and 5,712 thousand Mt of beef, as well as 46,4 Mt of frozen beef.

Ukraine shipped 2,252 thousand Mt of frozen beef, and  7,124 thousand Mt of chilled beef and 1,466 thousand Mt of frozen beef were imported from Belarus.

According to the Committee, all meat product imports and exports are supplied under veterinary control, according to documents guaranteeing the safety of origin and according to veterinary certificates.

Meat and meat product imports by individuals through checkpoints are also strictly controlled in accordance with veterinary and sanitary standards and requirements.

The State Committee on Veterinary Science and the Development of Livestock is not authorized to set prices for the purchase and sale of either meat and meat products imports or domestic meat and meat products.

According to the demand and proposal, 1 kg of meat imports is set at the level of 40-45 thousand sums.

In turn, the Consumer Protection Agency has instructed consumers before buying meat.

In accordance with rules on retail trade - sale of meat and dairy, fish, confectionery (sponge cakes, cakes, etc.), semi-finished products, culinary products and other perishable products, is allowed only in the presence of the cooled counters, show-windows.

At the same time, the seller is obliged to provide the consumer with information about the name of the goods, their origin, the producer and other information in a visual form.

For this purpose, meat refers to goods subject to mandatory certification, i.e. it is obliged to have a certificate of conformity.

As well as in addition, the requirements of the General Technical Regulation on the Safety of Meat and Meat Products establish the following requirements for meat labeling:

a) an imprint of the veterinary mark is applied directly to the carcass, semi-carcass and quarter in accordance with veterinary requirements;

b) it is allowed to apply an additional imprint of the trademark directly on the carcass, half carcass and quarter;

c) the following information is indicated in the documentation for unpackaged slaughter products - the type of animal meat from which the slaughter product derived, the name of the slaughter product, the thermal state of carcasses, half-carcasses, quarters and cuts ("chilled," "frozen"), the anatomical part of the carcass (for cuts).

Consumers are asked to pay attention to the presence of a veterinary stamp on meat, and in case of doubt, require a veterinary certificate and certificate of conformity.