Mozambique: Government denies sale of contaminated frozen chickens in Nampula – AIM

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Mozambique: Government denies sale of contaminated frozen chickens in Nampula – AIM

3:02 CAT | 26 Oct 2023

File photo: AIM

The Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries, in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, has denied the sale of frozen chickens contaminated with salmonella.

The denial emerged as a response to the research carried out by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies at Lúrio University (Unilúrio), which claims to have detected salmonella (a bacterium that causes serious food poisoning) in frozen chicken that is being sold all over the province.

The researchers say they have found salmonella in 10.81 per cent of 74 samples of chicken skin, legs, and carcasses, in the cities of Nampula and Nacala.

However, according to the head of the Livestock Department at the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries, Equiteandro Ração, who was addressing reporters on Wednesday, “there is no risk in consuming frozen chicken, since all the chicken sold in the markets goes through the process of evaluation and quality control.”

“The information that has been circulating since the 23rd of this month about the presence of salmonella in frozen chicken meat is not true”, he said.

Ração explained that last March, Nacala district alone incinerated 230 boxes of suspect chicken pieces imported from the Netherlands.

“In March, we had a batch of 230 boxes of chicken pieces imported from the Netherlands, but the product was still being held, and it was not sold. After the laboratory results, all the product was incinerated at the Nacala air base”, he said.

READ: Mozambique: Nampula detects salmonella in frozen chicken – AIM report

Source: AIM