Meat Safety in India: Hazards, Value Chain Vulnerabilities and Institutional Frameworks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/jms.2026.21.01.12Keywords:
Meat safety, nutritional significance, challenges, food safety, abattoir, informal marketsAbstract
Meat and meat products constitute an increasingly important component of the Indian food system, driven by urbanization, changing dietary patterns, and rising demand for animal protein. India is one of the world’s largest producers of livestock and poultry, with a highly diverse meat sector encompassing organized export-oriented plants as well as a vast informal domestic market. Despite its economic and nutritional significance, the meat sector in India faces persistent challenges related to food safety, particularly due to informal slaughter practices, fragmented supply chains, inadequate cold-chain infrastructure, and uneven regulatory enforcement. This review presents an India-specific assessment of meat safety, focusing exclusively on hazards associated with meat and meat products rather than the broader food sector. Biological and chemical hazards relevant to Indian meat systems are discussed in detail, along with contamination risks at pre-slaughter, slaughter, processing, distribution, and retail stages. The review critically examines meat safety management practices and evaluates the role of Indian regulatory and institutional frameworks, including veterinary services, meat inspection systems, and food safety authorities. Special attention is given to the dual structure of India’s meat sector, where modern abattoirs coexist with traditional and informal markets. The review concludes by identifying priority areas for strengthening meat safety in India through risk-based inspection, institutional coordination, infrastructure development, and capacity building, with the objective of safeguarding public health and supporting sustainable growth of the meat sector.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rajendran Thomas, Sadhana Ojha, Devarshi Bharadwaj, Dolly Sharma, Hirakjyoti Das
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