Muscat: Meat being sold in markets in Oman is fit for human consumption and poses no risk to public health, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on Sunday.
The ministry’s clarification came following a ban imposed by the Saudi Food and Drugs Authority (SFDA) on all cow and cattle meat — whether chilled, frozen or canned — being sourced from Oman over fears of an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
In its statement, the ministry said that reports of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Animal Health (Office International Des Epizooties-OIE) had mentioned that the disease was one of the endemic diseases in the Arabian Peninsula and Middle East.
The disease has been classified on the third list as per the WHO protocol on diseases that pose a limited risk to animals. It is not considered a hurdle for bilateral trade. As per the WHO report for OIE, the disease does not pose any risk for public health as no human infection has been registered for almost half a century.
The chances of an outbreak of the disease are just as negligible in the sultanate as they are in Saudi Arabia despite a variance in the strains of the virus that causes the disease. As per the recommendations of the World Health Organisation for Animal Health, regarding the export of cow meat from the countries where there might have been an incidence of the disease, no ban should be applied.
Oman, represented by the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry, protects and maintains its animal wealth through an integrated system that includes vet quarantines, vet hospitals in different governorates and research and diagnostic centres.
Moreover, as part of the national strategy for animal health, the ministry implements a number of projects including the National Vaccination Project. Around 20 million animals were vaccinated in the last ten years against a group of diseases including FMD, the Ministry’s statement said.
