Frozen meat not safe to eat

Meat price rise in Algeria is due to informal slaughterhouses where 80 percent of sheep are slaughtered and mortality rate raise among sheep to 10 percent due to primitive grazing. Algeria relies on importing instead of encouraging big investments in animals breeding, chief of the Algerian Association of Meat Producers and Traders Mohamed Taher Remram told Echorouk Forum.

Remram said frozen meat traders do not respect freezing rate. Because of that, their meat is unfit for human consumption. “Chicken price will go down as it will be subsidized by producers.”

He warned against eating “cheap sausages” as they may be made of donkey meat.

Speaking about red meat, Remram said its price will rise by 10 percent in the first days of the fasting month of Ramadan due to high demand.

“Anarchical consumption culture is behind red meat price rise. It will be between 1,200 and 1,400 DZ in Ramadan.”  

Meat traders do not respect freezing degree

According to the meat association chief, Algeria imports large quantities of frozen meat from Australia, India, Newzealand and Brazil as middle class families prefer to buy this meat instead of fresh meat which is sold at more than 1,000 DZ per kilo.  

He said most of the traders do not respect freezing degree. Because of that, meat becomes not safe to eat.

“Every frozen trader must have a special thermometer so that people can see it. Every seller who does not have a thermometer, sold meat is unfit for human consumption,” he added.

Wrong political decision behind meat price rise

Remram said meat was sold at 700 DZ per kilo in 2011. “The government did not like that and ordered to slaughter large quantities of sheep in order to reduce prices in Ramadan to 600 DZ. Millions of sheep were slaughtered and meat was frozen. Yet, people refused to buy frozen meat and rushed to fresh meat which was sold at 1,200 DZ. The government could not control the prices as production went down to 400,000 tons from 800,000 tons. Because of that, Algeria imports 600,000 tons.”

Smuggling Moroccan sheep saved Algeria from meat crisis

Last year, large quantities of Moroccan sheep were smuggled to Algeria shortly before Ramadan. That saved the national market from a real meat crisis.

“Moroccan sheep meat is sold at 600 DZ per kilo compared to 1,200 DZ for Algerian meat. That encouraged many traders to smuggle Moroccan sheep,” said Remram.

Donkey meat sausages sold at 200 DZ

According to Remram, more than 200,000 tons of red meat are marketed in informal market while a considerable number of traders sell donkey meat which looks like beef.

“People can not see the difference. Because of that, this meat is sold at less than 600 DZ per kilo,” he said.

He added that some traders turn donkey meat into sausage which sold at 200 DZ per kilo.