Australia: chicken meat free of hormones and antibiotics

The survey is conducted each year by the Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and tests for 40 different contaminants each of which were undetected in all samples.

The Victorian Farmers Federation Chicken Meat Group president Mike Shaw said that the findings were not surprising to chicken growers because the use of hormones were banned in the country in the 1960s. Additionally, antibiotics are used sparingly and only for specific animal health purposes.

According to Shaw, “The Australian broiler industry has led the way, not just in food safety, but in biosecurity, animal welfare and environmental management,” adding that the findings “highlight the contrast between the food safety standards in Australian poultry production and the standards in many overseas production systems. Any move to allow imported chicken meat into Australia is likely to compromise food safety standards.”

“Many countries interested in importing to Australia use a range of drugs and health products as well as pesticides that we simply do not use here,” he said.

“Consumers are the primary benefactors of the results of this survey. They can feel 100% confident when consuming Australian chicken,” Shaw concluded.

 

Victorian Farmers Federation