Dressed Chicken drug Residue

Hindustan Times , July 30, 2014

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has found antibiotics in 40% of the 70 chicken samples  tested from Delhi and the NCR. Seventeen per cent of the samples tested had more than one drug, found the CSE study, Antibiotics in Chicken. Animals are fed antibiotics to add to growth and bulk, which causes resistance in bacteria in animals, which then gets transferred to humans through food. Cooking chicken at temperatures between 70° and 100°C for at least two minutes at the centre kills most bacteria, says the World Health Organisation. Thirty-six chicken samples from Delhi, 12 from Noida, eight from Gurgaon and seven each from Faridabad and Ghaziabad were tested by the CSE lab for the presence of six commonly-used antibiotics, including tetracycline and ciprofloxacin. “Unlike in Europe, use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry in India is totally unregulated as the government has adopted the US model of self-regulation. “Denmark reduced use of antibiotics for chickens by 90%, but it did not impact broiler death and productivity,” said Bhushan.Antibiotics were used as growth promoters. "The samples analysed show antibiotics are fed in low doses over a prolonged period of time, without any disease," says Bhushan.

As Poultry Scientist we teach the poultry farmers to withdraw antibiotic and vitamin supplements in feed at least seven days before sending the birds for slaughter. It is true that we do not have good regulatory methods in India. Fortunately we Indians cook chicken over 100 deg C after thoroughly washing in running water and consume. This removes even the traces of antibiotic if present. We seldom eat par boiled chicken. However caution is required in consuming processed chicken.