About 300 kg of stale chicken and other meat was seized from the Kaloor slaughterhouse on Sunday morning in a joint operation by the city police, Health, and Food Safety departments.
Police found the meat, suspected to be more than a week old, stored in several crates packed with ice at a chicken and meat stall. Ravi, 45, of Thammanam, who operated the stall, and two employees Shekhar, 24, of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, and Moosa, 25, of Thenkashi in Tamil Nadu, were arrested. Police are on the lookout for the stall owner, Khalid of Karukappally.
The stale meat was allegedly procured from various hotels in the city. “Big hotels do not use chicken pieces with plenty of bones. The stall operators procure the meat thrown out by them and sell it here,” said a police officer. While chicken outside costs around Rs.120 per kg, the accused allegedly sold it for between Rs.30 to Rs.60 to individuals and small hotel and food stall owners, police said.
Police also suspect that the accused may have mixed the stale meat with fresh chicken and sold them to customers. Health officials said stinking meat could cause various health problems to consumers. The Food Safety department submitted a report on the matter and the North police have registered a case against the accused. The seized meat will be tested by Food Safety officials.
In a similar operation, the Kochi Corporation’s health squad had seized 1,000 kg of rotten ‘tsunami’ meat from a vendor at Edakochi in September last year. The meat was allegedly being supplied to hotels across the city and outside.
The police suspect that the accused may have mixed the stale meat with fresh chicken and sold them to customers.