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THE storm arising from allegation that Zambeef Products Plc has been importing and supplying to the public beef products containing aromatic aldehyde, a chemical used for embalming corpses, must be resolved as quickly as possible.
The chemical is said to be a health hazard that could cause cancer.
The Ministry of Health says it has tested samples of beef products from Zambeef outlets in different districts at the National Food and Drugs Laboratory in Lusaka and found traces of the harmful chemical.
The Zambia Institute of Environmental Health (ZIEH) has accused the company of tampering with seized expired meat, which it says amounts to a serious breach of the law.
Meanwhile, Zambeef has also stepped up its denials and is blaming a bitter former employee for its troubles.
The company’s chief executive officer Francis Grogan told a media briefing on Friday that the alleged scam is a well-crafted smear campaign by the bitter employee whom it dismissed last year.
At this stage, it is difficult to tell whether the company is guilty or not because it has denied the allegations and has not been convicted by a competent court of law.
Whatever the case, we feel there is need for a level-headed approach to this saga to protect the interests of both consumers and the company’s shareholders.
If Zambeef is found guilty, it should pay for its violation of the law and putting at risk the health of the consumers of its beef products.
But whatever action may be taken should not lead to the company’s downfall because that would negatively affect the thousands of Zambians it employs directly and indirectly.
We say this because Zambeef is not a small company. It has a vast chain of outlets throughout the country and makes a significant contribution to the national treasury through taxes and other statutory obligations.
Besides, it is listed on both the Lusaka and London stock exchanges.
According to the London Stock Exchange’s website the company posted a comfortable US$9 million in pre-tax profits up to the period ending March 31.
Through organic growth and carefully targeted acquisitions, Zambeef Products Plc has grown into one of Zambia’s largest agribusinesses with annual revenues of, for example, up to US$225 million for the financial year ending September 2012.
It has a number of subsidiary companies, including Zamanita, which also employ a significant number of Zambians directly and indirectly.
In short, this is one of the few success stories of an indigenous company, which started as a low start-up capital business but has since 1994 morphed into a big employer and contributor to the country’s national purse.
Scores of small-scale food suppliers get their stock from Zambeef Products Plc for resupply to their clients, including Government institutions.
Zambeef’s outlets are very popular among low-income citizens mostly in high-density settlements who find its products relatively affordable.
Therefore, bringing the company down would deprive these vulnerable citizens of a source of cheap but standard quality beef products.
The fact that it only imports a small fraction of its products shows that the problem is not beyond a solution.
It would also be wise for the company to stop importing those questionable products and instead help strengthen the capacity of the local primary producers.
We urge the relevant statutory bodies involved in the investigation to expedite the process so that this matter is resolved as soon as possible to forestall further harm to the company, and to avoid being used in what could be a high-stakes trade war.
