Food safety and risk management of beef and beef products in Pakistan

In this paper, biological hazards associated with beef in Pakistan are identified along the food chain and ranked according to the possibility i) to detect the hazard during meat inspection, and ii) that the risk would increase during cold storage of beef or that it would decrease during thermal meat processing. It appears that meat inspection has limited potential to control the hazards. Since the demand for beef (including 'novel' beef products) is expected to rise particularly in the metropolitan areas of Pakistan, it is increasingly important that handling and preparing beef dishes is done in such a way as to prevent hazardous agents from spreading and multiplying, or to reduce them to an acceptable level. The clear formulation of- and strict adherence to Good Manufacturing and Hygiene Practices as well as the provision of information to the consumer on residual risks that may persist is primarily the responsibility of food business operators. More intensified attempts to educate the consumers on how to reduce or eliminate these risks need to be undertaken.