The tender trap costs dearly

2003-03-04 08:35

Cobus Grobler

Cape Town - Agriculture deputy minister Dr Dirk du Toit is to launch an inquiry to guage the extent of serious fraud in the meat industry in South Africa.

Consumers are deliberately being cheated across the country with low-quality meat being sold as higher-grade. They pay at least R4 a kilo more, spending thousands of rands more on low-grade meat than they should.

Several graders have been caught at abattoirs for incorrectly marking meat.

Suspected offenders have been caught in the Free State, the Western and the Eastern Cape. Their marking rollers were confiscated and they are all required to reapply for a registration code.

Complaints are being investigated by the state on behalf of the SA Meat Industry Company.

Tough meat from old cattle

In the Free State, the marking rollers were returned to avoid a threatening court interdict. Informed sources say that, legally, the graders still will have to reapply for code numbers.

In many cases, mutton is being marked as lamb. In other cases, beef is sold at a higher grading, when it is, in fact, tough meat from old cattle.

In this way, butchers and suppliers are making up to R1 000 more on a carcass, it is said.

Du Toit declined to comment on the allegations pending the outcome of the investigation, said his spokesperson Sybilla Hilzinger-Maas.

Reliable sources in the meat industry say competition among abattoirs is stiff, which might account for exploitation of consumers.

- Die Burger