The Nation Newspaper

Tag: beef

  • Lagos bans use of Okada to convey beef

    Lagos State Government has banned the use of motorbikes popularly known as ‘Okada’ and ‘Air Cool Vans’ for transportation of meat and meat product in all abattoir and slaughter slabs.

    This, the government, said was to ensure a well-structured meat transporting system which befits the status of a mega city.

    Commissioner for Agriculture Oluwatoyin Suarau who made this known  at the stakeholders meeting with representatives of the Lagos state Butchers Association, Eko Refrigerated Meat Van Association, Apapa Park transporter and the Sheep and Goat Butchers Association noted that only the authorised ‘Refrigerated Meat Vans’ are allowed in the business of transporting meat within the state.

    “Anyone who transport meat product using other means other than the authorized refrigerated meat vans will have their meat seized. The ‘air cool van’ which was earlier introduced in 2008 has been faced out and must not operate within the state again”, he said.

    The government, he said, will not relent to stop unwholesome transportation of meat.

    Suarau warned against carrying of meat products in polythene bags and unauthorised vehicles adding that government has zero tolerance for ‘Okada’ operations within the premises of abattoirs and slaughter slabs and thus directed that all owners of ‘Okada’ should vacate the premises of the abattoirs and slaughter slabs immediately.

    He stated further that the Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance Unit on dislodgement of illegal abattoirs, seizure of stray animal, monitoring of illegal meat transportation and regulation of veterinary premises will commence enforcement of the ban on operations of motorcycles and air cool vans within the premises of the abattoirs and slaughter slabs in the State.

    Suarau stated that the government will provide more refrigerated meat vans for effective transportation of meat in the state.

    “The state has a model which is aimed at ensuring a healthy and hygienic transportation of meat within the state. I therefore urge all to give maximum support to government in the implementation of these policies”, he said.

    Suarau explained that the since the inception of the present administration, policies and programmes aimed at changing the face of abattoirs and slaughter slabs have been embarked. He added that apart from upgrade of facilities and infrastructure of abattoirs and slaughter slabs, the government has also trained butchers and live cattle dealers drawn from various abattoirs and slaughter slabs in the State on current trends in abattoir management.

  • Consumers bemoan absence of meat in beef sausages

    Consumers bemoan absence of meat in beef sausages

    Beef sausage rolls and beef rolls as they have been christened by their manufacturers are not food products one needs to go far to get in Nigeria.

    They roll off the conveyor belts in various factories in their thousands every day and end up being sold along the roads in traffic, corner shops, open market, super markets, virtually in every nook and cranny.

    It is one of the most convenience foods for a hungry person. It is a piece of sausage meat baked in a roll of spiced pastry or dough.

    Practical food? Yes, because it is handy, tasty, affordable as it sells for N50 each, quite filling especially when eaten with a bottle of drink, can be easily accessed, neatly and safely packaged as a majority of the popular brands are produced by multinational companies.

    Beef sausage rolls have become a food product most Nigerians have come to trust and rely on especially when you are hungry and trapped in traffic hold ups like the ones experienced by Lagosians.

    The most popular brands are Gala from the UAC foods, Meaty from Leventis Stores, Chopsy beef Rolls manufactured by UTC foods, Super Bite/ Beef Rolls from CHI Ltd, Bigi etcetera.

    The sausage industry in Nigeria started with the first brand Gala, from UAC foods, in 1962. Then it was sold only in Lagos. For those outside Lagos State, it was a must-buy for them any time a relation or close ones travel to Lagos. Both adults and children relish the gift of gala sausage roll from Lagos.

    However, the market has greatly expanded. With many brands in the offing now, there is virtually no place in the country that one cannot find these snacks. Though the amusing thing is that the name gala has stuck with most people. Most consumers still refer to other brands as gala. It is a common thing to hear a buyer calling on the boys who hawk this product in traffic to bring gala, then when the seller comes with his cartoon filled with the various brands, the buyer will then select or ask for a specific brand. Generally people in most cases refer to all of them as gala.

    Is the so called beef sausages/rolls, or should I ask the pastry tasty? Yes. The problem, however, is that consumers do not know if the snacks are qualified to be called beef sausage as a majority of the brands do not seem to have any resemblance of beef in them.

    The stuffing that is supposed to be beef does not seem beefy neither does it taste meaty. The filling of the gala of old tasted meaty as is attested to by some consumers and that was why consumers got hooked to the product and when other companies saw their success rate they all went into the business. Unfortunately, they did not imitate the UAC standard of old. What we have as stuffing in the so called beef rolls are just spiced, lumpy, pink coloured dough.

    If at all there is any resemblance of minced beef in them, is the percentage of the meat enough to qualify those sausages as beef rolls and beef sausages not to talk of being called ‘Meaty’?

    Nigerian consumers definitely deserve to be treated better. They have the right to be fully informed as to what they are buying. Many consumers have registered their anger and concerns with Consumer Watch. Recently, a Public Relations consultant, Larry Ofile Badmus, called in anger after buying one of the so-called beef rolls and wondered why such a product that has no meat in it should be registered by government regulatory agency as a ‘beef roll’.

    “They can market the products but under different names that do not reflect or give the impression that the filling is made with beef,” adding that the manufacturers should be called to change the deceptive names or add enough beef to the stuffing to qualify it as a beef roll or ‘Meaty’ sausage”.

    However, reacting to the allegations, Mrs. Joan Ihekwaba, the General Manager, Marketing UAC Foods, makers of the leading brand, Gala, strongly stated that “Gala sausage rolls stands out with its unique beef filling made from pure beef, micronutrients, seasonings and other ingredients stated on the packaging in line with regulatory requirements.”

    Speaking in an interview, she refuted claims that the Gala of the 80s was of a higher quality than what we have now. She said that UAC Foods has not rested on its laurels but has rather improved its value offering over the years.

    “The brand is now 53years old and several improvement initiatives are routinely carried out towards meeting consumer’s expectations. It is the first brand in Nigeria to include micronutrients,” emphasised the GM Marketing, UAC Foods.

    Explaining further, Mrs. Ihekwaba said that the company engages in regular consumer research and identifies with aspirations of Nigerians and their appetite for success, thereby providing consumers with top quality safe and healthy convenience foods.

    Speaking with a nutritionist and food scientist at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), she said that for those snacks to be qualified to be called beef sausages and beef rolls they must contain between 15% and 20% beef in them.

    Analysing the stuffing in most of the popular brands, the civil servant, whose name cannot be mentioned because of civil service rules, said the manufacturers should change their recipes and include enough meat in their products or change the names of those products.

    “The stuffing is strong and even stony which should not be the case. It’s just spices, flour, binders, pink food colouring and maybe very tiny amount of minced meat which does not qualify the snacks as meaty or the other names,” she said.

    Calling on the manufacturers to stop the deception, she advised them to change their recipes or come to FIIRO for help in reformulating their recipes.

    “Though those manufacturers know the right thing to do, it’s just greed for high profit that is beclouding their sense of judgement,” she claimed.

    Exonerating NAFDAC, the civil servant said that most of the manufacturers present the right food products for reviews and inspection only to start producing substandard products after NAFDAC, SON must have issued them with approvals.

    However, that excuse does not exonerate the regulatory agencies as their duty does not end with the first inspection. They are supposed to carry out regular checks and monitoring to ensure standards are enforced and maintained.  Besides, they are residents of this country and definitely they are equally patronising those products.

    Reacting to the issue in her office at NAFDAC office, Isolo, Lagos, NAFDAC Public Relations Manager, Mrs. Christie Obiazikwor, said that the sausages actually have beef filling. Strongly debunking claims that the stuffing were anything other than beef, she said that the agency would not have approved them if that was the case.

    At the office of CHI Ltd, the company’s Customer Relations Manager insisted that the stuffing in both Super bite and Beef Rolls produced by them were minced meat.

    In fact, she said that at a time they had complaints from consumers who said that they were coming across difficult chewy parts of meat when they munched their beef rolls, adding that their recipes are a reflection of consumer demands and wants.

  • Beef shortage looms in North

    Nigerians should expect  beef shortage following increasing  insecurity  in  the North, the Programme Coordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU), Mr  Victor Olowe has  said.

    The shortage may hit the region if the government  does not protect  cattle farmers, he said.

    He said: “There is need for increased efforts to prevent the deterioration of the situation. A major determining consequence of this phenomenon is the rise in prices, which contributes to the households’ increasing vulnerability.

    “Serious consequences  could occur, when food items are in the depleted markets, because of the communities’incapacity to rebuild their stocks and cattle.”

    He  said the consequences are far more serious for the population, who have to deal with drop in  food production.

    According to him, the government needs  works on food insecurity and also in areas most hardly hit by consecutive droughts and low-yield harvests.

    Meanwhile, there are reports of   increasing wave of cattle rustling, across the north with  foodstuff and livestock supplies affected.

    A  report  said  if concerted effort is not made to address the malaise, the country might soon experience meat shortage, with its debilitating consequences on food security.

    Herdsmen in Adamawa State have reported loss of over 1,500 cattle to thieves in the last one year, costing millions of naira.The rising incidence of cattle theft has also continued unabated in some council areas of Katsina State has been a source of serious concern to residents.

    Frequent cases of cattle rustling occur in Safana, Faskari, Funtua, Batsari and Danmusa local governments of the state. Hundreds of cattle have been stolen by thieves who often invade communities and farm houses in the night.

    However, the incident is allegedly being perpetrated with the connivance of some locals. Some victims claimed that the cattle rustlers use charms to take the cows away.

    Cattle rustling has become a huge problem in Kaduna, threatening its peace and food security.

    A report  said cattle rustlers is  threatening the Fulani communities and their cows.

    Emir of Birnin Gwari, Alhaji Jibrin Maigwari, who said:  “We don’t know how many thousands of cattle have been stolen so far. The issue is that everywhere you go in the Emirate, you will find a casualty; someone’s herds of cattle were stolen, a wife or children raped and others even killed.”

  • Rangers to add two strikers to beef up squad

    Rangers to add two strikers to beef up squad

    Enugu Rangers will look to inject two attackers, a midfielder and a defender to fill the provision for four players which the club is at liberty to include at the Group Stage of the CAF Confederation Cup which starts in July.

    The Flying Antelopes defied all odds to qualify for the group stage of the second rated Africa’s clubs competition after holding on to a 1-0 home win against current Tunisian champions, CS Sfaxien to advance.

    The club’s director of media and publicity, Foster Chime told SportingLife that Rangers have noticed the attack to be the weak link in the team hence the decision of the management after consultation with the technical crew to add two new strikers and a player each in the midfield and defence as they prepare for the group stage of the competition.

    He said the management is still waiting on the Rangers coaches led by Okey Emordi to present the list of four players that will be needed to beef up the squad.

    “We are happy that we have qualified for the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup and we are not going to handle it with kids glove at all. We have done a review of what transpired in the first phase and we have decided to have a thorough look at what we did wrong and right.

    “Four additional players will be included to beef up the squad with emphasis on the strikers. Our conversion rate in front of goal has been far from impressive hence the decision to go for two strikers and then get additional defender and midfielder to improve our already strong squad,” Chime said.

    Chime also disclosed that the General Manager of the coal city side, Paul Chibuzor Ozor has redeemed the USD2000 promised the players and officials if they qualify adding that efforts are in top gear to claim the 5 million naira pledged by the state government and that of the 1 million naira donated by the Association Local Governments of Nigeria(ALGON) Enugu chapter.

    The club’s spokesman also affirmed that Rangers have begun serious preparation ahead of their weekend league match against Heartland and their two outstanding games against 3SC on June 19th and Sharks on June 23rd.

    Meanwhile, the Enugu State government has congratulated Rangers for doing the state and the country proud in Tunisia where they qualified for the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup 1-0 on aggregate at the expense of CS Sfaxien.

    Speaking through the SSA to the Governor on Rangers matters, Victor Atuonwu, Governor Sullivan Chime thumped up the Flying Antelopes and has charged them to lift the trophy for Nigeria.