New Delhi-based non-governmental organisation Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Tuesday accused the domestic poultry industry of twisting facts from one of its earlier studies to show that chicken produced in the country was safe for consumption.
Terming it a “complete misrepresentation”, CSE strongly objected to the way results of a 2014 study were used in a media advertisement by All India Poultry Development Services Pvt Ltd to suggest no misuse of antibiotics in the poultry sector, a press statement said. The advertisement appeared nearly 10 days after BusinessLine broke the story about the government amending the health certification requirement, easing the way for cheaper imports of chicken legs from the US.
“This (the ad) is complete misrepresentation of the facts and the antibiotic misuse practices adopted by the Indian poultry industry. Antibiotic use in the sector is rampant. They are even using life-saving drugs like colistin to fatten the chicken,” said CSE Deputy Director General Chandra Bhushan. “There seems to be no genuine attempt by the industry to reduce antibiotic misuse and this advertisement is eyewash.”
“In fact, the industry has ignored the results of our latest — 2017 — study, which shows how poultry farms are breeding grounds of super-bugs. They are misguiding the nation and trying to dilute their contribution to the problem of antibiotic resistance.
“This will not help the industry in the long-term. They must act responsibly,” he added.
Referring to the issue of maximum residue levels (MRLs) mentioned in the advertisement, Amit Khurana, senior programme manager, Food Safety and Toxins, at CSE, said it was a myopic view as residue level in food is only one part of the problem.
Resistant bacteria, he said, can also get transferred to handlers and consumers.
Unabsorbed antibiotics as well as resistant bacteria in chicken droppings which enter into the environment are another big concern. The problem starts with antibiotic misuse.
India currently has no standards on residue levels in chicken meat. “So, comparing residue results with the MRL of the European Union is meaningless.
“Our study was aimed at establishing the fact that banned, critical and highly prescribed antibiotics are being misused by the poultry industry — we did not make any comparisons with MRL as India does not have an MRL of its own,” Khurana said.