Conviction in NZ for selling potentially hazardous goat meat

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in New Zealand has reported that a dairy owner, Ananda Krishna, and a company, Shop ND Save Limited, have been sentenced in Christchurch District Court for processing and selling goat meat outside of food safety rules and having unhygienic practices.

MPI’s Chief Compliance Investigator, Mark Sanders, said the owner and company did not have a registered risk management plan.

“The rules are in place to protect people from foodborne illness. When businesses choose to ignore them they put people’s health at risk.”

The charges resulted from three food safety concerns: improper storage of raw carcasses and pieces of meat causing potential contamination; equipment used for meat preparation not cleaned properly; and meat kept at the wrong temperature during processing.

“The charges specifically related to the businesses operation between April 2018 and June 2019, when Mr Krishna diced goat meat purchased from registered wholesalers on a bandsaw at the rear of his shop. As a dairy owner, Mr Krishna was not licensed to process goat meat and sell it.

“On 21 May 2019, an MPI animal products officer visited Shop ND Save and found a small number of goat carcasses and goat meat in a walk-in freezer. Packaged and unlabelled, diced goat meat was located in the retail freezer at the front of the premises.

“During a search of the premises on 19 June 2019, 50 kilograms of diced goat meat were found in a freezer. Mr Krishna admitted processing goat meat himself on the bandsaw. Maggots fell out from the bandsaw equipment when it was opened. The equipment also contained bird faeces, which are known to harbour pathogenic bacteria.” 

Krishna and the company pleaded guilty to three charges under the Animal Products Act 1999. Krishna was convicted and sentenced to 200 hours’ community work and the company was fined $2250.

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