Viral post on meat parcel to Chennai puts officials on toes

TIRUPATTUR: Tirupattur district food safety officials conducted checks at the Ambur bus stand in the early hours on Monday following claims on social media that beef from the town was being transported to Chennai.

What created the ruckus was the claims that meat was being packed in cardboard boxes with wooden supports inside to prevent it from folding.

The boxes brought to the Ambur bus stand on two-wheelers would then be loaded onto Chennai-bound buses without the conductor knowing that it was meat.

Sources said that the matter came to light when foul smell started emanating from the boxes as the meat became stale during the five-hour-plus journey to the state capital. “The usual excuse given by those involved in the transportation was that the consignment was leather goods being sent to Chennai based on orders,” a source said.

“If such stale meat is sold in Chennai, the repercussions will be high as it can lead to health problems,” the source added.

District food security officials said they came to the Ambur bus stand to conduct checks after seeing the media posts and related photos. “But no boxes were found be loaded onto any Chennai-bound bus,” the official claimed.

When it was pointed out that it was too early for this to happen, he replied, “They slaughter cows by around 5 am, and hence the meat if meant for Chennai will naturally be brought to the bus stand in the morning. However, we plan to continue the surveillance over the next few days to see if what appeared on social media was true.”

Asked about a similar episode three months ago when social media was agog with reports of dog meat being sent to Chennai, the official said, “it was not dog meat but only beef and mutton, and the issue was raised by a worker in Natrampalli due to wage-related issues.”