Fire-Damaged Meat Prompts Urgent Health Warning
More than two weeks after a truck fire destroyed thousands of pounds of meat in Sand Hill, health officials now fear the story is far from over. The Ministry of Health and Wellness says reports have surfaced that some of the fire-damaged meat may be making its way back into the marketplace, prompting an urgent warning to consumers: don’t buy it and don’t eat it. Officials say the meat was exposed to intense heat, smoke and potentially hazardous chemicals during the blaze, creating serious health risks. At the same time, questions are mounting over how the contaminated meat was disposed of after residents reported seeing charred carcasses left to decompose near a Belize Electricity Limited power line. So, how did a public health emergency become a disposal problem as well? Principal Public Health Inspector John Bodden explains what went wrong.
On the Phone: John Bodden, Principal Public Health Inspector
“BAHA, who were supposed to supervise it, and they were out there on Friday. And, I am not sure what, what happened. We were notified on Wednesday, the twenty-first that there was a, um, a complaint made by some person who live in the nearby community of Sandhill that there was a stench coming from the improper disposal of those meats. And so, we had sent our public health officers from the local Belize City office and they investigated, and yes, they did find that the meat was just in the open. And so, we have engaged with BAHA to notify them that the meat must be me-buried and it must be done at an approved public health site. So when-whenever they identify the site for the burial of the meat, they should contact us so that we are in agreement that it is a safe place for disposal. We need to ensure that the meat is disposed of properly so that it cannot lead to other impacts that, that may be associated with just being out in the public. Because of course, you know, after a couple of days the first thing that emanates from that dumping would be the smell which, which was reported to us. So we already see that is happening. Other than that it would, it would cause scavengers to come around, you know, from the wild. Ofcourse you have leaking of the fluids from the meat into the surrounding area. So that would be pretty much what would be the issue at the moment.”
Bodden explained any sanctions stemming from the disposal of the fire-damaged meat would be the responsibility of BAHA, which oversees meat processing facilities and provided guidance on the handling and disposal of the contaminated products.
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