Beware of Water-Bloated Meat and Tiren Chicken Approaching the Lebaran
Counterfeiting cases of farm products are frequently found recently. Upon the Lebaran (Islamic Holy Day), the price of basic commodities has increased sharply. Inconsiderate sellers seize this opportunity by selling meat swollen by injecting it with water and tiren chicken.
"Consumers should take a great care in choosing the product. Damaged or decayed meat can no longer be consumed because only a little amount of its protein is absorbed by the human body and has also been damaged by bacteria and microbes," said Dr. Ir. Asep Sudarman, a lecturer at the Faculty of Animal Husbandry, IPB as a guest speaker in the Evening Dialogue at RRI Bogor, (24 / 8).
Good beef has a bright red color; when it is touched it is not too soft and too hard but flexible and not watery. Fresh chicken meat has a bright white color and it is not too soft.
"Tiren chicken is one that dies naturally a day before not because it is slaughtered lawfully and then it is sold. This type of chicken is actually forbidden by the MUI because it is as the same as selling the carcass. Expired meat or tiren chicken contain only a quarter of its protein and are definitely contaminated by bacteria or microbes. Like tiren chicken, water-bloated beef is banned by the MUI because the cow is forced to drink a lot of water, which in fact hurts the animal." he added.
To deceive consumers, thoughtless sellers sometimes use certain additives such as yellow color from non-food colorings and formaldehyde.
Dr. Asep advises that buyers not be fooled by a cheap price because the price of normal chicken meat is quite high, whereas tiren chicken is usually cheaper. Formal sellers in the market rarely or even do not dare to sell tiren chicken because it is similar to “a suicide” especially if there is a sudden inspection.
"Sellers of tiren chicken are usually not official but impromptu merchants. They take the advantage of the people’s high demand for chicken meat, "he said.
Both local and imported meat, if not under good storage, will quickly decay. Buy beef from the regular merchants who sell in the market legally because from the beginning they would not take the risk of losing his business.
It is easy to distinguish normal meat from water-bloated meat. Normal meat is relatively chewy and when hanged it does not drip water. Water-bloated meat is usually very soft and when hung it drips water and when put on the table its water will let out.
Meanwhile, the Services of Animal Husbandry and Fishery always do sudden inspection. If found, the product is immediately destroyed and the seller is dealt with firmly because a mere warning is not enough.
Then, what make sellers unafraid of selling illegal product? They see an opportunity of taking a big profit. Perhaps, there isn’t enough firm action and only a warning and socialization.
"The low economic groups will buy such product despites its poor quality," he emphasized. This will affect the quality of human resources of Indonesia. The HDI of Indonesia is at the rank of 111 from 182 countries. Compare this with the America, which is at number 13, and Japan at number 10.
The animal protein consumption in America reaches 113.6/capita/day, Japan 91.8/capita/day, and Indonesia 56.8/capita/day. Indonesia’s position is lower than Malaysia’s, which ranks 66th in the world in the meat consumption of 77.9 / capita / day.
Dr. Asep added that meat consumption greatly affects children’s intelligence. He pointed out that young couple who have not yet got a stable economy prefer to send their children to expensive schools than to meet the protein needs of their children. (mtd)
