A Quantitative Assessment of Causes of Bovine Liver Condemnation and Its Implication for Food Security in the Eastern Cape Province South Africa

Ishmael Festus Jaja, Borden Mushonga, Ezekiel Green and Voster Muchenje
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Ishmael Festus Jaja: Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa
Borden Mushonga: School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Namibia, 13301 Namibia, South Africa
Ezekiel Green: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa
Voster Muchenje: Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: Food production needs to double, with minimum waste, if hunger and poverty is to be alleviated in South Africa. The condemnation of liver during meat inspection represents a huge waste of a protein food resource. This paper measures the quantity of liver condemned in three abattoirs in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and assesses the causes and the monetary loss associated with these condemnations. A retrospective study (RS) ( n = 51 302) involving the use of abattoir slaughter records from 2010–2012 and a post-mortem meat inspection (PMMI) ( n = 1374) was conducted from July to December 2013. The RS revealed the leading cause of liver wastage as fasciolosis (5.95%, 4.48%, and 2.7%), fibrosis (2.74%, 2.37%, and 1.0%), and abscessation (1.11%, 2.78%, and 1.5%) for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 respectively. During the PMMI, the same factors caused liver condemnation in addition to calcification (8.3%, 6.8%, and 3.2%), Cysticercosis bovis (1.7%, 2.4%, and 1.3%) and improper evisceration (4.8%, 12.4%, and 27.1%) for the abattoirs X, Y, and Z respectively. A total of R 343, 330 (USD 45,271.07) was lost due to the condemnation of liver between 2010 and 2012. The further loss of 3290.4 kg of liver was calculated for the six month in 2013, and its financial value was R 59, 227.2 (USD 5889.82). The result of this study provide baseline information on major causes of liver wastage in cattle slaughtered in South Africa as well as the direct financial losses and demonstrate the huge waste of ideal protein food source.

Keywords: food waste; liver condemnation; abattoir; meat; Eastern Cape; fasciolosis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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