October 3, 2006

Poultry group criticises Australian chicken import regulations
 

Biosecurity Australia, a poultry group, said important human health concerns have been ignored in laws on chicken meat imports.

Dr Andreas Dubs, from the Chicken Meat Federation of Australia, is concerned the current draft on import laws does not exclude countries which use human antibiotics to grow chickens and said increased use would lead to consumers developing a resistance to the antibiotic.

While antibiotics for humans, such as fluoroquinolone are not used on animals in Australia, they are used in many other countries, said Dubs. Current laws restrict Australian chicken imports to a minimal volume.