Abattoir Management Reform and Meat Safety in Enugu State: A Professional Assessment

This study provides a professional assessment of abattoir management systems in Enugu State, located in Nigeria's South East geopolitical zone, and proposes evidence-based reforms to improve meat safety outcomes. Abattoir management in Nigeria is fragmented across multiple regulatory jurisdictions, inadequately funded, and poorly standardised, generating persistent meat safety risks for consumers. Using a mixed professional assessment methodology, all six registered public abattoirs in Enugu State were evaluated against the Codex Alimentarius standard for meat hygiene and WHO guidelines for slaughterhouse management. Data were collected through facility inspection using a validated 80-item assessment tool, interviews with abattoir management and veterinary inspectors, and bacteriological analysis of 180 carcass surface swabs. Financial management records and staffing establishment records were reviewed for the preceding three years. Findings revealed an average abattoir compliance score of 34 percent against minimum hygiene standards, with waste management, water supply, and veterinary staffing levels representing the most deficient domains. Bacteriological analysis showed total coliform counts exceeding Codex limits in 72 percent of sampled carcasses. The study proposes a phased abattoir modernisation programme anchored in public-private partnership investment, dedicated abattoir funding from levies, veterinary staffing to statutory establishment, and the introduction of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) frameworks at state abattoirs. Keywords: abattoir management, meat safety, Enugu State, HACCP, food safety.