In the midst of unending controversy over the Dadri lynching case, the Centre has decided to set up testing labs at major ports to check illegal export of beef. MoS for Agriculture Sanjeev Kumar Balyan said this soon after a review meeting on illegal export of cow meat with senior officials of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Food Processing Ministry and Agriculture Ministry. “Officials of the APEDA said there is no illegal export of cow meat as production and export are strictly monitored through ‘meat net’ software. However, it has been decided to set up labs at ports to check its illegal export,” he said, adding that exports are largely undertaken via the Mumbai port.
According to sources in the ministry, the decision was taken after several rounds of consultations with senior officials of the ministries concerned, including senior officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Citing APEDA data, Balyan said, “Buffalo meat export has declined 14.7 <g data-gr-id="14">per cent</g> to $1,483 million during April-August this year due to strict monitoring of shipments via the software. Buffalo export is being undertaken by 49 APEDA registered <g data-gr-id="15">slaughter houses</g>, of which 20 are in UP.” There are 1,696 slaughterhouses in the country, of which a maximum of 316 houses <g data-gr-id="19">are</g> in Maharashtra, followed by 285 in UP.