May 7, 2008

Poor regulation in Pakistan poultry industry poses human health risk
 

The Pakistani poultry industry must ensure a high standard of poultry feed and bird health as about 100,000 poultry are consumed daily in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, according to a report by the Daily Times.

Unhygienic poultry feed, improper disposal of poultry waste and the absence of legislation concerning feed ingredients and medication could pose serious threat to human health, according to Pakistan's veterinary experts and environmentalists.

Senior environmentalist Azharuddin said poultry feed are mostly prepared in unhygienic conditions and there are no measures to gauge the feed's nutritional value. Feed ingredients are also often contaminated with heavy metal ingredients, and unbalanced feed composition are responsible for the presence of fungus, salmonella and e-coli found in poultry that are consumed in Pakistan, Azharuddin said.

Veterinarian Dr Shaukat said growth-promoting substances were fed to poultry for prolonged periods near slaughter, which left residues in the slaughtered birds that eventually are consumed by humans.

Six different types of vaccines are usually administered to poultry but some farm owners skipped vaccinations to cut costs, a move that sometimes lead to health complications in both poultry and humans, said veterinarian Dr Marwat Ali.

The government needs to regulate the poultry industry to protect the interest of consumers, according to Ali.