Pig offals on sale at open air gigs

Standard Style
Revellers at most open air gigs could be eating pig offal without knowing.

Revellers at most open air gigs could be eating pig offal without knowing.

BY SILENCE CHARUMBIRA

Food vendors at gigs sell the offals to unsuspecting buyers who are made to believe they are having ox livers and the popular “zvinyenze” (goat tripe bound by intestines).

A recent survey by the Standardlife&style at a live show held at the Harare Gardens revealed that the vendors go out to buy the pig offals at slaughter houses where they are given for free or sold for a song.

A vendor at one of the two shows held on consecutive days said they bought the offals from workers at abattoirs who got them for free on account of they were meant to be thrown away.

“We buy them at very low prices as the abattoirs do not sell them. The staffers at the abattoirs sell them to us and they are cheaper than ox livers and goat intestines,” said the vendor who preferred to remain anonymous.

“I think the hardships that we are having to endure taught us a lot in life. That is the reason why some people sell even donkey meat — it is just to lay their hands on the elusive dollar,” he said.

Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) chairperson Rutendo Bonde, however said people have been eating pig offals since time immemorial.

She said the only major risk is a bacteria called taeniasolium which is found in pork.

She however said the bacteria is also found in other pork products and the major issue at live performances is hygiene.

“The concern is the undercooking of pork products and general hygiene issues. The absence of real standardisation of food products to ensure that public health is not at risk is what matters,” she said.

She said the issue at stake is broader and has to be looked at from the angle of food handling in the catering industry highlighting cases of cholera and typhoid.