MONTEGO BAY, St James — Residents are being advised to consume only approved meats, after the recent discovery of a crocodile carcass at a food establishment in Montego Bay.

Public health officials say the find was made during a visit to a venue that had previously been ordered closed and which was being vetted ahead of being allowed to reopen.

“I just want to remind persons, though we may have exotic tastes and want to consume various types of meats, we want to ensure that these animals are currently approved for slaughter as meat for humans in Jamaica,” chief public health inspector for St James Shericka Lewis said during Thursday’s monthly meeting of St James Municipal Corporation.

She later told the Jamaica Observer that the discovery was made on November 25.

“The public health team is vigilant, and it was actually during an inspection by the team that this carcass was found,” Lewis explained during the meeting.

She did not name the business place but said it was not operating when the discovery was made.

“That establishment is a food handling establishment which was closed by the public health department prior to this discovery,” she said.

“It was upon us going for a revisit — because they called us to say that they are ready for a reopening — so when we went there and we did the second inspection, the carcass was found,” she added.

The public health official said the matter has been passed to National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).

“They are in the process of carrying out legal action against the offender,” Lewis said.

Sharing there have been queries about the types of animals that are fit for human consumption, she provided guidance.

“Animals that are currently approved as meat in Jamaica are animals such as bulls, steer, cow — or other description of cattle — pigs, sheep, lamb, goat or kid, rabbit, or other such mammals, and includes poultry, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowls, or any other birds reared to produce meat,” Lewis advised.

She noted that the public health department has embarked on a “meat drive” to coincide with the Yuletide, which started on December 2.

“This will continue through to mid-January next year. Fifteen meat shops were checked; eight were found to be satisfactory and seven were unsatisfactory,” she said.

“From this drive we seized and condemned approximately 140 kilogrammes of local beef and 45 kilogrammes of local goat meat. These meats were found to be uninspected and [not] stamped by the public health inspectors,” she said.