Food and animal experts have stated that the consumption of animal blood as meat, especially from diseased animals, could lead to another outbreak of anthrax, among other zoonotic diseases.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in July 2023, confirmed the Anthrax outbreak in a mixed livestock farm in Niger State.
Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria and can affect both humans and animals.
It can be transmitted through the consumption of raw, undercooked meat and other products of the affected animals.
Zoonosis, according to the World Health Organisation, is an infectious disease that is transmitted, from animals to humans.
The WHO states that there are over 200 types of zoonoses, comprising a large percentage of new and existing diseases in humans.
According to an animal feed resources information system, Feedipedia, blood collected during the slaughter of various livestock species such as cattle, pigs, and chickens, under a wide range of conditions, is dried through solar, oven, drum, flash and spray drying.
Several tribes in Nigeria process and consume animal blood as meat.
The experts explained that although blood was a good source of protein and iron, the consumption of animal blood as meat raised health concerns regarding the spread of animal-to-human transmitted diseases.
Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, the President of the Consumer Advocacy for Food Safety and Nutrition Initiative, Prof Olugbenga Ogunmoyela, stated that the consumption of animal blood as meat puts the eaters at risk of blood-borne illnesses.
The don also said that the handling, processing and preservation of the animal blood as meat further raised food safety concerns.
He said, “Consuming animal blood as meat can have severe health risks, including exposure to blood-borne illnesses. Although blood is a good source of protein and iron, its safety as a human food is still an issue of concern. Its safety depends on many factors in the handling process (from the farm to the abattoir to the final Plate), that is, right from the rearing of the animal, its nutrition and health, how the blood is collected when slaughtered, how the blood is processed into a meal, and how it gets to the final consumers.
“Some people drink the raw blood; some dry it, while some cook it and allow it to curdle, and so on. As beef, fish, chicken, and raw eggs have been associated with foodborne illnesses, blood meals would also have to be considered potentially unsafe in this environment, as the product may carry similar foodborne illness and food poisoning risks.”
The CAFSANI president, however, noted that proper cooking of the blood could reduce the risk of transmission of foodborne illnesses.
“However, with proper cooking, such foods have been found to reduce their risk/potential to cause food-borne illnesses. Hence proper care should be taken with blood to ensure that it is properly cooked, but it is important to note that consumption of raw blood is not safe,” Ogunmoyela said.
He also noted that blood meal was a good source of protein and was mainly used in animal feeds and compound fertilisers.
The don also said that human consumption was due to cultural and religious practices as against being a source of protein.
Ogunmoyela said, “Blood meal has been used as a high-protein ingredient in both human foods. For example, blood Tofu is popular in Asia in countries such as China, Taiwan and Vietnam and in the formulation of animal feeds as a protein source. Therefore, it can serve as a cheaper protein source in place of beef, fish, chicken, and eggs which are becoming more expensive and out of the reach of the poor.
“Also, blood meal is an important source of iron which can be used to combat anaemia. In Russia and some other countries, blood meal is processed into sweet nutrition bars and even blood pancakes in Sweden, widely popular for treating anaemia.”
He further warned that the excessive consumption of blood meal could make the body absorb more iron than necessary which could be harmful to the health.
Ogunmoyela also said, “Due to the high iron content of blood, excessive consumption of blood meal could lead to hemochromatosis, a condition that occurs when the body absorbs excessive iron, which can build up to harmful levels. However, there is no known study to confirm if the consumption of Bloodmeal contributes significantly to our local diets, although as has been noted, it may be common in various tribal communities in Nigeria.”
Also, the Assistant Director and Veterinary Preventive Medicine Consultant at the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Plateau State, Muhammad-Bashir Bolajoko, stated that although the consumption of animal blood as meat was common with some cultures and tribes, it was also a taboo among other tribes and countries.
He explained that blood sourced from slaughtered animals was processed into blood meal for human consumption.
The vet further noted that it could lead to the outbreak of anthrax in humans.
Bolajoko said, “It has been agreed that as long as the blood is collected hygienically from the slaughtered healthy (that is disease free) animals. It is also confirmed that certain fractions of animal blood are used in human medicine. What this indicates is that putting aside cultural and religious beliefs and ruling, as long as the animal is confirmed healthy, the blood hygienically collected from the healthy animal and hygienically handled during preparation into the form for consumption it is healthy to consume the blood.”
The Veterinary epidemiologist asserted that the blood meal contained proteins but was not consumed as a substitute or inability to buy other food-animal protein sources.
He further explained that blood meal consumption was more of a religious and cultural belief.
Bolajoko also said that people who consumed blood meals, especially those of sick animals, were at risk of being infected with diseases common to animals.
The veterinarian further said that there was a high likelihood of an outbreak of zoonotic diseases that was transmitted through blood.
“Yes, there are diseases shared amongst humans and animals and some of these diseases can spread by consuming blood in raw form when collected from slaughtered animals. Anthrax is a very good example. This scenario is also what’s obtainable when an animal or human consumes raw milk without pasteurisation.
“If the practice of consuming raw blood from animals that are diseased or infected, there is a high likelihood of an outbreak of any of the zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted via blood,” the Veterinarian epidemiologist said.
