Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2012-11-26
A KFC store in Shanghai. (File photo/Xinhua) |
Representatives
of food giants KFC and McDonald's in China have pushed back on claims that they
use broiler chickens raised on feed infused with harmful chemicals and hormones
to accelerate their growth.
According
to a report from the Hong Kong-based China Review News, KFC, McDonald's and a
number of large supermarkets in China are supplied by Shanxi Suhai Group, a
northern Chinese company specializing in the mass production of broiler
chickens that have a lifespan of only 45 days.
The entire
breeding, rearing and production process is operated in bulk, the article said,
producing five or six batches of chicken a year with each chick earning the
company around 2-3 yuan (US$0.32-0.48) in profit.
Shanxi
Suhai told China Review News that the rapid development of the chicks is
achieved not through growth hormones but through breeding, feed, and rearing
conditions. A chick in one of its sheds eats three types of feed during its
short life, the company said. The first round of feed, lasting 10 days, is for
nutrition, followed by a second segment to help them develop longer bones. The
third feed, provided in the final 15 days, is to help them put on two or three
ounces of meat a day.
Reporters
who visited Shanxi Suhai's factories described an odorous environment filled
with industrial salt and choline chloride. Workers on site claim that the feed
is mixed with hazardous medicines and preservatives that kill all the flies in
the area.
Shanxi
Suhai claims that the industrial salt is used to soften the water fed to the
chicks while choline chloride is a permissible additive to chicken feed under
Chinese regulations. The company added that feeding antibiotics to chicken is
also an acceptable practice and that any harm to human health is so miniscule
that it can be ignored.
A
contractor for the company explained that as each shed is crammed with 5,000
chicks, it is very easy for contagious diseases to spread and that medicines
must constantly be used to strengthen their immune systems.
A
spokesperson for KFC clarified its relationship with Shanxi Suhai, claiming
that the company only supplied 1% of its materials and adding that it has a
clean safety record. McDonald's on the other hand, said that Shanxi Suhai is not
one of its suppliers.
An industry
insider said the speed of growth of the broiler chicks depends largely on the
breed, and that advancements in modern technology means that some breeds can be
ready for consumption just 30 days after birth. The insider also suspected that
some of the "medicines" mentioned in the article could only be
vitamins.
"Usually
medicines are stopped seven days before slaughter and are completely
metabolized before hitting the market," he said.
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