Tainted pork for sale in St. James?

 

There is a concern that meat, in particular pork that was slated for disposal, may find its way onto the plates of unsuspecting consumers in St. James.

 

Minority Leader in the St. James Municipal Corporation, Michael Troupe, says residents near the Retirement dump in the parish, have complained of a recent incident where meat disposed of at the site was retrieved and taken to market for sale.

 

Mr. Troupe, who was speaking Thursday at the monthly meeting of the corporation, said proper disposal of the meat requires that it be buried. 

 

"It's a major issue between the dumping, the covering, and the people coming back for the meat that is dumped to take back for selling. People have a concern about that in Retirement. So I'm asking you, the person that is in charge, both the public health and the solid waste management to make sure that when there's meat that has been taken away, they must immediately cover it," he proposed. 

 

But Mayor of Montego Bay and chairman of the St. James Municipal Corporation, Richard Vernon, cautioned that the claims would have to be properly investigated. 

 

"We don't want to say, oh, this is the case and there is no investigation to justify what [residents] have said. So it is important that you raise the point, raise a concern, or echo a concern of the residents, but we have to investigate it before we say this is a fact," the mayor advised.