Smokie
Encyclopedia
A West Africa
n smokie is food preparation made by blowtorching the fleece
off the unskinned carcass
of an old sheep or goat
.
population. This prohibition is largely due to fear of the possibility of transmission of scrapie
and bovine spongiform encephalitis (mad cow disease), deadly, degenerative prion
diseases that are spread by ingestion of nerve and brain tissue from infected ungulates such as sheep, cows and goats. Furthermore, butchering an ungulate carcass with the skin intact and unsterilized considerably raises the risks for induction of fecal coliform bacteria such as E. coli
or Salmonella
into the meat and is thus banned in the UK by law. This risk is heightened because the smokies are generally produced in covert (and often grossly unsanitary) butchering facilities and handled without proper sanitary procedures. Furthermore, the goats and sheep used are traditionally old, worn-out or lame animals bought inexpensively from milk and wool farms and are not intended for human consumption.
Since the process of producing a smokie requires that the skin and wool of the carcass be left in place and burned in one piece, the spinal cord
is not removed from the carcass
prior to consumption. Thus, consumers (however careful) may unwittingly ingest tissues from the nervous system
, potentially exposing themselves to BSE (mad cow disease) prions. For this reason, UK laws strictly forbid the sale of meat from cattle
or sheep with the nervous system and skin still attached.
television program
Watchdog publicised the sale of smokies in London
, two years after the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
(CIEH) told a conference about their production in Wales
.
The Farmers' Union of Wales has called for smokies to be legalised in the United Kingdom
, stating that there has not been any medical proof that the meat could be harmful.
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n smokie is food preparation made by blowtorching the fleece
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
off the unskinned carcass
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
of an old sheep or goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
.
Legal status
The sale of the African variety of smokies is illegal in many western countries, but they are nevertheless sometimes available on the black market in cities with a large expatriate West African MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
population. This prohibition is largely due to fear of the possibility of transmission of scrapie
Scrapie
Scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease that affects the nervous systems of sheep and goats. It is one of several transmissible spongiform encephalopathies , which are related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy and chronic wasting disease of deer. Like other spongiform encephalopathies, scrapie...
and bovine spongiform encephalitis (mad cow disease), deadly, degenerative prion
Prion
A prion is an infectious agent composed of protein in a misfolded form. This is in contrast to all other known infectious agents which must contain nucleic acids . The word prion, coined in 1982 by Stanley B. Prusiner, is a portmanteau derived from the words protein and infection...
diseases that are spread by ingestion of nerve and brain tissue from infected ungulates such as sheep, cows and goats. Furthermore, butchering an ungulate carcass with the skin intact and unsterilized considerably raises the risks for induction of fecal coliform bacteria such as E. coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
or Salmonella
Salmonella
Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...
into the meat and is thus banned in the UK by law. This risk is heightened because the smokies are generally produced in covert (and often grossly unsanitary) butchering facilities and handled without proper sanitary procedures. Furthermore, the goats and sheep used are traditionally old, worn-out or lame animals bought inexpensively from milk and wool farms and are not intended for human consumption.
Since the process of producing a smokie requires that the skin and wool of the carcass be left in place and burned in one piece, the spinal cord
Spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
is not removed from the carcass
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
prior to consumption. Thus, consumers (however careful) may unwittingly ingest tissues from the nervous system
Nervous system
The nervous system is an organ system containing a network of specialized cells called neurons that coordinate the actions of an animal and transmit signals between different parts of its body. In most animals the nervous system consists of two parts, central and peripheral. The central nervous...
, potentially exposing themselves to BSE (mad cow disease) prions. For this reason, UK laws strictly forbid the sale of meat from cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
or sheep with the nervous system and skin still attached.
Exposé
On 29 March 2005, and again on 6 April, the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Watchdog publicised the sale of smokies in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, two years after the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health is a professional and educational body, dedicated to the promotion of environmental health and to encouraging the highest possible standards in the training and the work of environmental health professionals.-Structure:It is located in the UK, and...
(CIEH) told a conference about their production in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Legalisation movement
It is generally believed that meat with the skin and fur attached may contain more bacteria. However, if butchered in a legal and well-maintained facility under expert supervision, the possibility of bacterial contamination would be minimized.The Farmers' Union of Wales has called for smokies to be legalised in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, stating that there has not been any medical proof that the meat could be harmful.
External links
- "Illegal Meat " at Watchdog Reports. Accessed 6 April 2005.
- "'Smokie' gangs threaten meat trade" at BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
. Accessed 6 April 2005. - Elliot, Valerie. "Illicit trade in 'smokies' is danger to health" at TimesOnline.co.uk. Accessed 6 April 2005.
- "FUW backs probe to legalise smokies". Accessed 6 April 2005.
- "Farmers' call to legalise 'smokies'" at BBC News. Accessed 6 April 2005.