Chickens double in size over 50 years but carry health risks -Abdullah Nurullah

CHENNAI: Poultry farmers can now afford to count their profits before their chickens hatch - and they are big, with chickens weighing on average twice as much as they did 50 years ago. The broiler chicken of today, a product of controlled breeding, weighs around 2.2kg as compared to 1.2kg before 1960, say veterinarians and chicken farm owners.

Contract farming started in India in the early 1960s, taking over from multi-breed coops that contained birds of various breeds and ages. Contract farming involves the industrialised breeding chickens of the same age and variety.

This method of poultry farming employs improved feed formulations and vaccination, says R Prabhakaran, former vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. "Selective breeding has increased livability of the birds," he said. "Since the 1960s mortality rate of chickens has reduced from 10% to 2% due to improved nutrition and hygiene in farms."

The downside of scientific poultry farming is that medication administered to the birds may find their way to the table. A study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in July showed that one in two chickens in the country had antibiotic contamination. Farms give chickens feed mixed with antibiotics that act as growth promoters. Most stop the antibiotics a few days before slaughter. This allows the birds to flush out the remnants of the antibiotics.

"Farms should ideally not feed birds antibiotics at least 10 days before slaughter," Prabhakaran said. Because farms seldom follow this, antibiotic residue in meat passes on to humans. Scientists have shown that large-scale use of antibiotics by the poultry industry has caused antibiotic resistance in people who eat chicken regularly, leaving them vulnerable to a range of bacterial infections.

Scientists have shown that large-scale use of antibiotics by the poultry industry has caused antibiotic resistance in people who eat chicken regularly, leaving them vulnerable to a range of bacterial infections.

Chickens also pass on residue of antibiotics through their faeces, which may spread through water and soil and eventually end up in crops, putting even vegetarians at risk of antibiotic resistance.

"Antibiotics are sold without labels in across the country. There is no monitoring agency to keep them in check," said Amit Khurana of CSE's food safety and toxins department. There have been no studies on a national level to check the levels of antibiotics that contract farms administer chickens.

Farms earlier prepared chicken feed so that the levels of crude fibre, protein and fat determined the weight and quality of the meat. Contract farming has introduced methods of assessing amino acid levels to produce birds with leaner meat and pinkish pigmentation and more succulent breasts.

"European countries like Denmark have an effective monitoring system with strict guidelines to survey breeding methods at chicken farms," said Khurana. "We need a monitoring system to check abusive practices in farms."

Poultry farm owners deny that they use chemicals to produce larger chickens. R Goudhaman, who owns a poultry farm in Erode, says he gives his birds only optimum levels of antibiotics. But he admits that farmhands administer the chickens probiotics and synbiotics to prevent growth of pathogenic microorganisms.

But such advanced farming methods are now the norm because birds raised in the backyard are no more preferred, says Prabhakaran. "Backyard farming usually involves poor hygiene and nutrition levels and birds are often exposed to contaminated water," he said.

A recent study by University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada revealed that chickens raised in the US poultry farms are four times larger than 50 years ago. A 2007 ban imposed by the Indian government has kept US poultry products out of Indian markets. But the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Tuesday ruled that India's ban, based on fears of bird flu, was discriminatory and gave the government 60 days to appeal the ruling.

India exports chicken and chicken products mainly to the Gulf and African nations.