There are 350 of these professionals in the country, but one thousand 200 are required

RISK

The responsibility of monitoring the quality of the meat consumed by the Panamanian is on the shoulders of only 350 veterinarians in public entities.

The shortage of personnel is notorious, according to the president of the Panamanian Association of Veterinarians, José Torres, who stressed that more than 1,200 professionals are required for this great task. “This is what is needed to comply with the country and with food health,” he said. The lack of personnel is years old and, according to Torres, the government does not invest to strengthen surveillance. He said that they have not named anyone but replace those who leave the system. “They say there is no money, but if there is money to increase the police, however, there is no quality technical service,” he said.

After the deficit, 10% of the slaughterhouses are not monitored by veterinarians. There are only 40 professionals in the entire country. It requires double, said the leader. Torres said that you can only ensure the quality of the meat that comes out of 35 slaughterhouses, where there are veterinarians who supervise the biosecurity processes.

READ MORE;http://elsiglo.com.pa/panama/10-mataderos-carecen-veterinarios/24060853