ZAMBEEF Products PLC Chief Executive Officer Francis Grogan has said the company has complied with the directives from the Ministry of Health and assured its customers that only local beef products are currently being sold in all its outlets country-wide.
Mr Grogan said Zambeef had withdrawn all imported beef products from its retail network countrywide to facilitate investigations.
Mr Grogan said the withdrawn products included ox-livers, ox-kidneys, hooves and intestines.
“The above listed products were recalled last Thursday, June 20, 2013, as a precautionary measure whilst investigations are in the process,” Mr Grogan said in a press statement.
He said on Monday this week, the Ministry of Health directed that Zambeef withdraws all imported beef products namely ox-livers, ox-kidneys, hooves and intestines and that the company should submit all imported meat products in transit to the ministry for quarantine until the investigations were completed.
He said being proudly Zambian company, Zambeef Products Plc was cognizant of the fact that the interest of its customers and the country as a whole takes priority.
He said the company was taking the matter very seriously by complying with the authorities and other stakeholders in the investigations.
“Zambeef will fully cooperate and await further instructions from the ministry of Health on this matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, a snap survey conducted in various towns yesterday revealed that Zambeef outlets were being shunned by customers. The usually packed outlets were only recording a few sales.
In Ndola all Zambeef outlets were diserted with a few customers milling around the shops for other products like mealie meal and cooking oil.
At the Chifubu Market outlets, the Zambeef employees were found chatting amongst themselves while a long queue formed inside the Quicksave butchery a few stalls away.
“I don’t sympathise with what has happened to Zambeef. They are too arrogant, we kept telling them that their products are too expensive but they never changed,” said a marketeer within Chifubu.
The same was the case at Masala Market where an evidently bored till operator was found buried in a novel and the display fridge in the shop was packed with meat products including offals.
A check at the two outlets along Chisokone road found a similar pattern; no people especially the one opposite Shoprite where the Zambeef employees were standing in the doorway chatting with street-vendors outside.
The outlet opposite Mulungushi Bus stop on Chisokone road had the highest number of people all of whom were in the section that sells cooking oil while the meat section was deserted.
In the outlet along President’s Avenue North, the employees were going about the business of packaging the products in the display fridges while the backroom staff leisured around.
In Lusaka, members of the public have continued to shun Zambeef PLC butcheries following the recent allegations that the company’s imported beef products contain Aromatic Aldehydes chemical.
A check at the Zambeef PLC outlets in the Lusaka Central Business District around 16:00 hours yesterday revealed that the company’s customer base had continued to dwindle after media reports that the imported beef allegedly contained the aforesaid chemical.
In Kitwe, Kitwe residents are shunning the purchase of beef from ZAMBEEF outlets for fear of consuming the alleged imported beef products containing aromatic aldehyde the chemical.
A random survey conducted found a few customers trooping in to buy other products such as milk and cooking oil, while in some cases there were no customers in the usually packed butcheries.
The outlets visited, found beef products in large quantities on display for sale but few customers going in.
One of the residents talked to, Mary Banda said she had stopped buying beef from ZAMBEEF following allegations that imported beef products contained aromatic aldehyde and feared consuming the products.
In Kasama, Zambeef has recorded a slump in sales at its major outlet in Kasama and sub-outlet in the Shoprite supermarket.
Employees talked revealed that stock was not moving as fast as it had been moving in the past due to apathy from some customers.
Customers interviewed expressed divergent views with some saying they would continue buying Zambeef products with exclusion of intestines and hooves while some were sceptical and afraid to continue buying Zambeef products.
In Kabwe two Zambeef butcheries in were found the shops open for business but there were no customers.
The Zambeef along the Ndola road had no customers walking in but the employees were seen inside chatting.
Whilst the one near the Green market had one or two customers walking in and the employees attended to them.
In Livingstone, business was going on as usual with several customers at Dambwa Central Market Zambeef outlet while there were no customers at the town centre Zambeef outlet.
That muzungu must learn a lesson that arrogance and greed has its place in jail.
Zambians
Why call it Zambeef when there products are not all Zambian…Change to ZamUK or something..
I will demand for compensation once facts are on the table.
Will never trust these guys ever again.
Thr is no arogance in wat Ceo has said and I don’t see any changes by wat thy stud for.
This is mer politics!
Why are the opposition(HH) so quite about this? Is it because it involves them? i thot their job was not only to oppose government but even other bad things such as this issue..This sign can as well be concluded as sign of “politics of hate and of the belly.” Our country lacks peolpe with courage..This all bunch of politicians are all scared little dogs of stupid *****s…
And what has the PF said apart from Mumembe’s side of story. Yes, eventually ZAMBEEF my loss business but in the final analysis it will be the employees and their families. Recalls are a normal thing in food industry but does not mean the party involved is guilty at all. Ask MoH how much of the aromatic aldehyde did they find? are the levels they found capable of causing cancer? Does their lab at UTH (Food and Drug) have the capacity to test for them to say for sure what they are saying or they need a referral lab to come in? Ask them
It is not only ZAMBEEF , even marketeers at Soweto market sell fish which is preserved in a similar manner. people do not complain consuming such fish
Zed@crossroad:
It is your choice! As for me, I’m not willing to assure employment at the cost of the health and safety of me or any of my loved ones., and will do all I can to avoid contaminated foods, even if allegedly so. The Minister for Health made a statement and I’m more inclined to believe him than any profit motivated businessman!
Ask Zambeef a simple straight forward question. Whose clever idea was it to dice the beef products being imported to Zambia.
It is premature to ask Zambeef that question because Mmembe’s allegations have not yet been independently verified.
the public relations, legal and entire zambeef management is to blame on this imported meat saga, swallow your pride next time take any rumour seriously because in rumour theres 30% truth. be professional ethical on oath. lastly reduce and advertise your business have shows and explain to the nation.
So if I accuse you of something does it mean that the fault lies with you? It’s like the PF argument that they removed subsidies on fuel and mealie meal to help the poor. I have never understood Zambian logic.
@ Salutani ..that was a directive from the ministry of health.and not where you want to head we all know that scared little man has no courage..
Zambeef employees thousands of people and suppliers and many also. This will not just affect the company and its staff but the Zambian economy as well.
Zambeef, please clean up your act and the Government please assist the company to remain afloat
ZAMBEEF give us a contrct to do road shows for you to market your beef again so that we explain what is happening to your clients.
The ministry of health should conduct a country wide,random medical tests on consumers of the said beef products.
We want to know short and long term effects.
A Chinese court has condemned two men to death and sentenced a company boss to life for their roles in the production and sale of poisoned milk that killed at least six children and made almost 300,000 sick.
the same should be done to them for making us sick
But are you sick, that’s my question? Or are you just jumping on a bandwagon in condemning a company that is technically not yet guilty? We’ve only heard one side of the story. F.O.O.L.I.S.H Zambians!
Where is the report to show that the Zambeef meat is tainted? In all that we do we should be fair ! So far someone has cried Wolf but there appears to be no such thing. Can we have the report, please!!
Tell them my thinking friend. An allegation is neither proof nor evidence. Mmembe has made an allegation and every Jim and Jack wants to take it as the gospel truth. It seems like most Zambians are just too lazy to think or use logic. Mmembe should actually start worrying about the calmness with which the Zambeef people are behaving. The boy will be taken to the cleaners.
A Chinese court has condemned two men to death and sentenced a company boss to life for their roles in the production and sale of poisoned milk that killed at least six children and made almost 300,000 sick.
so the same should be done to them.
This Musungu has been humbled huhh.. He thought he was so superior to be feared by GRZ but in the end he has lost. Why importing the offals that the guys in the west dont ever eat? Imagine importing fimbombo….sad indeed.
I have also stopped buying Zambeef meet until such a time when this saga is over. In the meanwhile sad that Zambeef is registering low sales.
Peace and prosperity to Mother Zambia.
They were supposed to be carrying out routine compliance audits on all the meat that is imported.
How come some character is posting using my blog name of Zed@crossroad. I have no information of chisokone Marketeers using this chemical at. Please Zambians stop keeping the livelihood of others through allegations without proof. Truth should be told at all times. What the MoH has done is good but they should support this will certified results. So we can have complete information to make informed decisions. At the moment ZAMBEEF is in trouble, but based on what findings, using which lab?
How come some character is posting using my blog name of Zed@crossroad. I have no information of chisokone Marketeers using this chemical at all. Please Zambians stop killing the livelihood of others through allegations without proof. Truth should be told at all times. What the MoH has done is good but they should support this will certified results. So we can have complete information to make informed decisions. At the moment ZAMBEEF is in trouble, but based on what findings, using which lab?