The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has expressed concern about the increasing number of cheap genetically modified organisms (GMOs) chicken offals that have flooded the country.
Report By TATENDA KUNAKA
Addressing delegates at a Zimbabwe Women Poultry and Small Livestock Farmers’ Conference in Harare last week, CCZ executive director Rosemary Siyachitema urged government to punish companies that imported GMO offals.
“We have noted that GMO offals are now dominating the meat industry which is disheartening because as a country we don’t import them,” said Siyachitema. “You will find them in these big shops and some of them [offals] don’t have names. At the moment a brand called Contraband is dominating the market, we don’t even know where it is coming from.”
Most of the chicken imports are said to be imported from South Africa and Brazil.
But a Director Department of Livestock and Veterinary Services at the Agriculture ministry, William Shereni denied that the country was importing chicken offals.
“We as a country, do not import offals because they are prone to infections,” he said.
Siyachitema said some companies were mixing the imported and local chickens to hoodwink customers.
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The CCZ is agitating for a law meant to deal with those that short-change consumers.
The central bank has said the country was spending over US$65 million a month in the importation of chicken gizzards, liver, feet and heads.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Gideon Gono expressed concern that the country was spending huge amounts of money on importing offals when the country underwent a major land reform programme.
“Would you believe it, that as a country we are spending on average no less than US$65 million a month to import chicken gizzards, livers, feet, heads intestines and that kind of thing,” said Gono.
