Unhygienic poultry feed, poor waste disposal risk to human health
Unhygienic poultry feed, poor waste disposal risk to human health
By Atif Khan
ISLAMABAD: Preparation of unhygienic poultry feed, improper disposal of poultry waste and absence of legislation concerning feed ingredients and medication pose a serious threat to human health, environmentalists and veterinary experts say.On average, 100,000 birds are consumed daily in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The consumption remains high in winter and during wedding season, while it drops in summer. This large number of birds comes mainly from poultry farms of Murree and Abbottabad.Azharuddin, a senior environmentalist, told Daily Times that poultry feed was mostly prepared in unhygienic conditions and no scientific measures were followed to gauge its nutritional value.“Feed is prepared in big pans in the open and ingredients are added lump sum without any measurement,” he said. He said feed ingredients like fishmeals and blood meals were often contaminated with heavy metal ingredients.He said mostly, the fish used in fishmeals were caught from the creeks of Karachi Sea, which were highly polluted by effluents from powerhouses, textile factories, tanneries and other industries. “Such toxic substances and chemicals can’t be separated from fish even at high temperatures, though the compounds may change form,” he said.Azharuddin said the same was for bone and blood meals as they were collected and stored in open areas close to factories and could be contaminated this way. He said that unbalanced feed composition was responsible for the presence of fungus, salmonella and e-coli in birds consumed in the country.He said fungus caused toxic diseases among poultry birds, while salmonella, which sat in human intestines, led to typhoid fever. He also warned that e-coli virus led to diarrhoea by invading the intestinal lining of the poultry birds.Azharuddin said most of the poultry farms supplying chicken to twin cities were situated in Murree. He said these poultry farms threw waste in channels, which later passed through Islamabad. He warned that use of this contaminated water could cause various waterborne diseases including hepatitis and gastrointestinal diseases.Dr Alamdar Hussain of Pakistan Veterinary Council said that the commerce ministry had restricted the import of any live animal, bone and meat meal, food and feed ingredients from mad cow disease-affected countries. He, however, regretted that the Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry failed to make laws for poultry farming, poultry bio-security and its marketing.Dr Shaukat, another veterinary doctor, said growth-promoting drugs and medicines were administrated for prolonged period during the bird’s time of peak production or as it neared slaughter, giving rise to residue formation in edible tissues.He said the drug residue in the medicated animals, including poultry birds, ultimately became part of human body.“If a medicine is having a residual effect of one week, it means it must not be slaughtered for one week otherwise the effect of medicine could remain in meat of the animal. If the animal is consumed by humans before one week, its residual effect would be transferred to them,” Dr Marwat Ali, a veterinary doctor, said.He said presence of these residual effects were at maximum in eggs, so they must be used after proper cooking. He said excessive use of drugs, such as powerful antibiotics, had made the growth system of poultry birds ‘more dependent on pharmacologically and toxicologically potent substance.’Dr Ali said normally, six different types of vaccines were injected to birds but some farm owners skipped vaccinations to save money. He said skipping of vaccines sometimes led to health problems. He said that use of infected, unhealthy birds by people could causes illness among humans.He demanded that the government regulate poultry industry in the larger interest of consumers, stop industrialists from using antibiotics as growth promoters and monitor slaughterhouses.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\05\05\story_5-5-2008_pg11_3
By Atif Khan
ISLAMABAD: Preparation of unhygienic poultry feed, improper disposal of poultry waste and absence of legislation concerning feed ingredients and medication pose a serious threat to human health, environmentalists and veterinary experts say.On average, 100,000 birds are consumed daily in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The consumption remains high in winter and during wedding season, while it drops in summer. This large number of birds comes mainly from poultry farms of Murree and Abbottabad.Azharuddin, a senior environmentalist, told Daily Times that poultry feed was mostly prepared in unhygienic conditions and no scientific measures were followed to gauge its nutritional value.“Feed is prepared in big pans in the open and ingredients are added lump sum without any measurement,” he said. He said feed ingredients like fishmeals and blood meals were often contaminated with heavy metal ingredients.He said mostly, the fish used in fishmeals were caught from the creeks of Karachi Sea, which were highly polluted by effluents from powerhouses, textile factories, tanneries and other industries. “Such toxic substances and chemicals can’t be separated from fish even at high temperatures, though the compounds may change form,” he said.Azharuddin said the same was for bone and blood meals as they were collected and stored in open areas close to factories and could be contaminated this way. He said that unbalanced feed composition was responsible for the presence of fungus, salmonella and e-coli in birds consumed in the country.He said fungus caused toxic diseases among poultry birds, while salmonella, which sat in human intestines, led to typhoid fever. He also warned that e-coli virus led to diarrhoea by invading the intestinal lining of the poultry birds.Azharuddin said most of the poultry farms supplying chicken to twin cities were situated in Murree. He said these poultry farms threw waste in channels, which later passed through Islamabad. He warned that use of this contaminated water could cause various waterborne diseases including hepatitis and gastrointestinal diseases.Dr Alamdar Hussain of Pakistan Veterinary Council said that the commerce ministry had restricted the import of any live animal, bone and meat meal, food and feed ingredients from mad cow disease-affected countries. He, however, regretted that the Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry failed to make laws for poultry farming, poultry bio-security and its marketing.Dr Shaukat, another veterinary doctor, said growth-promoting drugs and medicines were administrated for prolonged period during the bird’s time of peak production or as it neared slaughter, giving rise to residue formation in edible tissues.He said the drug residue in the medicated animals, including poultry birds, ultimately became part of human body.“If a medicine is having a residual effect of one week, it means it must not be slaughtered for one week otherwise the effect of medicine could remain in meat of the animal. If the animal is consumed by humans before one week, its residual effect would be transferred to them,” Dr Marwat Ali, a veterinary doctor, said.He said presence of these residual effects were at maximum in eggs, so they must be used after proper cooking. He said excessive use of drugs, such as powerful antibiotics, had made the growth system of poultry birds ‘more dependent on pharmacologically and toxicologically potent substance.’Dr Ali said normally, six different types of vaccines were injected to birds but some farm owners skipped vaccinations to save money. He said skipping of vaccines sometimes led to health problems. He said that use of infected, unhealthy birds by people could causes illness among humans.He demanded that the government regulate poultry industry in the larger interest of consumers, stop industrialists from using antibiotics as growth promoters and monitor slaughterhouses.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\05\05\story_5-5-2008_pg11_3
Comments
Post a Comment