CURRENT STATUS AND UTILIZATION OF BEEF SLAUGHTER BY-PRODUCTS BY THE PASTORAL COMMUNITIES IN KENYA: THE CASE OF BOVINE TRIPE

Many animals including cattle, goats, sheep, and camel are slaughtered daily in the pastoral regions of Kenya due to high local demand for meat and meat by-products. However, high post-slaughter by-product losses have been reported due to poor handling and hygienic practices in slaughterhouses. Bovine tripe is one of the main by-products from the slaughter operation that can be utilized for food. However, there is very limited information on the current state of use of tripe by the pastoralists and other consumers in Kenya despite its high potential for utilization at commercial levels. This study was therefore designed to establish the utilization of beef tripe by pastoral communities and the peri-urban consumers in Kenya. The study was carried out in the pastoral Counties of Marsabit, Turkana, Kajiado and Garissa and, the Kiambu County bordering Nairobi County to represent the peri-urban area. The area of Kiambu County is peri-urban and it is also cosmopolitan in habitation. Mixed research methods were used in data collection.

The results showed that tripe from these pastoral regions can be utilized as human food and pet food. Bovine tripe yield based on live weight of cattle was found to be between 0.76-2.00% across all the slaughterhouses studied. The survey revealed that tripe used as food is prepared for consumption in different ways such as broiling (72.72%), braising (54.54%), frying (81.81%), cooking in liquids (63.63%) and stewing (36.36%) by the communities under study. The study found that the tripe is not effectively utilized leading to high post slaughter losses which differed significantly (p<0.05) among the counties with Garissa county reporting the highest losses (>50%). When tripe is efficiently utilized by these communities, there will be a direct positive impact on the environmental pollution and the overall economy of the country.