CHINA - The
government of Shandong province is investigating chicken farms following
accusations of illegal use of antibiotics and hormones there, the province's
food safety office said.
The action came after China Central
Television reported on Tuesday that several Shandong chicken farms feed chicken
antibiotics and hormones every day to reduce their death rate and shorten their
growing period.
The report also said some chickens were fed
antibiotics two days before slaughter. Regulations stipulate that chickens must
not be given antibiotics in the week before slaughter so that it will not
remain in their systems.
Two such farms in Gaomi and Pingdu sold their
chickens to a slaughterhouse in Pingdu, which belongs to Liuhe Group, the
company that provided chicken to the China division of Yum Brands in Shanghai,
which owns the KFC fast-food chain. The logistics centre of Yum then delivered
the chicken to its fast-food stores, including KFCs, the report said.
The owner of the farm in Gaomi told CCTV that
the chickens have always been in inferior health because they have to reach
full growth in about 40 days. "Their hearts, as small as the tip of the
little finger, wear out from the speed," he said.
The chickens are fed large doses of
antibiotics all the time, the manager said, because cutting it off would kill
them immediately.
Hou Shuisheng, an animal nutrition professor
with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said: "Hormones, most
of the antibiotics and chemical compound medicines are banned from being fed to
stock and poultry."
However, he said, chickens are continually
fed antibiotics because many Chinese farmers don't have the money or want to
spend the money to raise chickens in larger and cleaner pens.
Companies belonging to Liuhe Group faked
feeding logs for chicken farms and issued quarantine qualifications without
doing any tests, the CCTV report said.
Wang Qingyun and Ou Hailin
China Daily/Asia News Network
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