Jakarta, July 16 (Antara) - Amid increasing need for beef in the face
of the post-fasting Idul Fitri festivities or 'Lebaran', Muslim
consumers are warned of pork-tainted meat circulating in the market.
Consumption of meat is on the rise in the fasting month of Ramadan,
particularly in the face of the Lebaran festivities, yet several
consumers failed to distinguish between beef and pork.
As
Muslims are not permitted to consume swine meat, they have to exercise
caution while buying beef. After all, numerous cases have surfaced
wherein beef was mixed with pork before it was sold to consumers in the
market.
Beef is adulterated with cheaper wild boar meat that is smuggled from
Sumatra to Java and is sold in the traditional markets.
"Seeing an increase in the number of cases of illegal smuggling of
swine meat, we can conclude that there are parties who are trying to
benefit from the Ramadan fasting month by mixing beef with pork,"
Agriculture Minister Suswono stated while destroying a total of 7.4 tons
of illegal wild boar meat in Cilegon, Banten, on Wednesday.
The minister reported that on several occasions, the authorities had
arrested the perpetrators involved in the illegal smuggling of pork, but
the practice continues unabated.
"Arrests have been made several times, yet there are always people who
try to make money through this practice, particularly in the fasting
month" the minister pointed out.
During a visit to a cattle ranch and abattoir in Subang, West Java,
over the weekend, the minister remarked that when the demand for meat
increases, there are parties who try to derive monetary benefits by
selling beef that has been mixed with cheaper wild boar meat.
Suswono reiterated that his ministry, through its directorate general
of animal husbandry and health affairs in cooperation with the animal
husbandry services in the regions, will conduct routine inspections to
monitor meat sales in the markets.
"If we are suspicious about the meat, we will take it to laboratories
for examinations. If it is swine meat, we will investigate its origin,"
Minister Suswono affirmed.
He also appealed to the public to partake in monitoring meat sales in the market.
"If the public finds suspicious meat, they are asked to report to us
immediately, so that we can follow it up and take action against the
perpetrators of adulteration," the minister urged.
In the meantime, the regional government of Tangerang City, Banten
Province, on Tuesday, arrested two traders who allegedly mixed beef with
pork.
The arrest was made when Tangerang City Mayor Arief R. Wismansyah along
with the police and other security officers conducted an impromptu
visit to the Anyar and Bengkok traditional markets in Pinang Dalam.
"The
police arrested two traders to be prosecuted based on the law because
they allegedly sold pork-tainted beef," the mayor noted.
Arief called on the traders to conduct their business honestly without
harming the faith of the consumers in the current fasting month when the
demand for meat is high. There should be no consumers who get
hoodwinked into buying tainted beef due to the greed of traders seeking
financial gains.
"It
should be assured that public consumers purchase 'halal' (permitted by
the Islamic law) goods, which are not mixed with other substances and
are good for health," the mayor stated.
The
regional government of Tangerang City will continue to carry out
investigations with regard to the arrest of the two traders to ensure
that traders will not sell pork-tainted meat.
"We will continue to monitor it, so that the public will buy goods appropriate for consumption," Arief reiterated.
Moreover, cases of wild boar meat smuggling into Jakarta are on a rise.
According to Agriculture Minister Suswono, swine meat smuggling cases
tripled from 12 tons last year to about 40 tons in the first half of
2014.
Therefore, the minister has urged the police and the quarantine office
to uncover the culprits of swine meat smuggling from Sumatra to Java.
"The smuggling of swine meat is comparable to drug smuggling because
the chain of its perpetrators is cut off. It is the main task of the
police to uncover its upstream bosses," the minister stressed while
destroying 7.4 tons of swine meat on Wednesday.
Suswono pointed out that the increasing cases of pork-tainted meat had
caused a psychological impact and restlessness among the Muslim
consumers and beef traders.
About 7.4 tons of swine meat was confiscated from two arrests. The
first arrest was made on July 5, which amounted to 4,555 kilograms and
the second on July 8, 2014, amounting to 2,918 kilograms. The arrests
were made by the Agriculture Quarantine Office of Cilegon, Banten.
"We will not remain silent. The rank and file of the quarantine office
will stand guard in the front line to fight against the smuggling,"
Minister Suswono added.
In the meantime, legislator Habib Nabiel Almusawa has urged the
government to guarantee that swine meat will not gain entry into
traditional markets in an effort to protect Muslim consumers.
The government should immediately take action against the widespread
circulation of pig meat in the market, he remarked in Banjarmasin, South
Kalimantan, last week.
"The issue should not be allowed to escalate, which has the potential
to create unrest among the public," Habib Nabiel Almusawa, who is a
member of the House of Representatives' (DPR's) Commission IV on
agricultural affairs, noted in response to reports of swine meat's entry
into traditional markets.
Almusawa stated that the smuggling of pig meat from Sumatra to Java had been going on for a long time.
"The smuggling of the meat had been taking place since long. They are
sent to Java to be used as animal feed at the Ragungan Zoo in Jakarta
and other zoos in Java. But of late, the volume of deliveries have
increased drastically and illogically," the legislator emphasized.
An inspection conducted by the Jakarta Agriculture, Animal Husbandry
and Fisheries Service revealed that the increasing volumes were not
intended to be sent to zoos, but instead, for sale in public markets, he
pointed out.
"Therefore, the government should guarantee that pork will not enter
the traditional markets. After all, now is the fasting month," he
added. ***3***
(T.A014/INE/B003)
EDITED BY INE
(T.SYS/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 16-07-2014 18:27: |
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