That yummy chicken could mess your Xmas

Experts say the handling of chicken meat in Nairobi raises major health concerns. (Photo: Courtesy)

Chicken traders in Nairobi are doing brisk business with indigenous birds selling faster than broilers thanks to the Christmas spirit.

At Shauri Moyo Market (Burma) and other roadside markets, indigenous chicken are fetching up to Sh1,600 each compared to about Sh600 for broilers.

Margret Mulwa, a meat broker at Burma says while this may not be the best Christmas in sales, it is a good month coming after the long electioneering period that affected businesses negatively.

However, food experts have warned residents to be cautious when purchasing slaughtered chicken at a time Nairobi is still under the threat of cholera.

Experts at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), University of Nairobi, the Royal Veterinary College, UK and the University of Liverpool, UK, say the handling of chicken meat in Nairobi raises major health concerns.

In their new report in the Preventive Veterinary Medicine journal they say chicken meat in Nairobi is handled in unhygienic ways.

They warn customers to be especially cautious when buying chicken at the City Market and Burma-Maziwa due to the huge numbers involved.

The two markets, the report prepared with livestock officers at the Ministry of Agriculture says, display a deplorable level of hygiene.

They lack sufficient running water, if any, while rotting garbage is hardly collected; meat is prepared in dirty surfaces and never inspected.

In Burma, which does not have running water or toilets, dead chicken are deliberately sold to clients from various city restaurants.

“In Burma market, sick animals are not treated while small restaurants often buy chicken which had died of whatever causes,” says the study.

Similar findings are documented by the Nairobi County Assembly.

“Burma market remains in a deplorable state with a potential of either spreading or causing waterborne and other diseases,” the assembly says in a report on city abattoirs.

Two weeks ago, the World Health Organisation warned that Nairobi remained at a high risk of cholera due to overcrowding, lack of water and poor food handling practices.

This year about 4,000 Kenyans have been infected with cholera with 76 deaths says the WHO.

Despite the health scare from chicken meat, the ILRI study shows an increasing appetite for chicken among Kenyans.

“Consumption of chicken in Kenya is predicted to increase from 54.8 thousand metric tonnes in 2000 to 164.6 in 2030 and from 6 to 30.5 thousand metric tonnes in Nairobi.”

The Kenya Medical Research Institute also has reported cases of unethical use of growth enhancing antibiotics by farmers supplying Nairobi with poultry and pork products.