Health concern over duck farm drugs
Print Edition
DUCK farmers in China’s eastern city of Nanjing have been found using antibiotics indiscriminately, a practice that could harm people’s health, according to a China Central Television investigation.
The capital of Jiangsu Province has a large number of duck farms, including many small units whose owners have a poor educational background and low understanding of how antibiotics should be used, experts told CCTV.
Some farmers told CCTV they fed ducks antibiotics every six or seven days, claiming that the ducks would otherwise die.
However, they admitted they didn’t eat ducks or duck eggs from their own farms for fear of residue.
Antibiotics were being used to treat diseases of the intestinal tract, respiratory system and to combat viruses, farmers said.
Reporters found some 30 to 40 types of antibiotics on the dozen or so duck farms they visited in Nanjing’s Lishui District. Farmers said they had to change antibiotics from time to time as ducks could develop a resistance.
One farmer said: “Every duck farm uses antibiotics. If not, ducks will die and we will suffer a big loss.”
Xie Zhongquan, a professor from Beijing University of Agriculture, said many farmers misunderstood the effects of antibiotics. “There are reasons for the death of poultry, and they usually don’t die because of not using antibiotics. There may be reasons to do with feed and diseases, but the farmers don’t know and they don’t care to find out,” he said.
At one small duck farm, CCTV reporters saw the owner mix an antibiotic in soluble powder form into duck feed without checking quantities.
He said his ducks were about 10 days old and the use of antibiotics was to prevent sickness.
However, the packaging, which said the antiobiotic could be used to prevent E. coli infection, typhoid fever and dysentery, states precise proportions of powder to water and says it should be sprayed on feed.
At a farm with some 2,600 ducks, a veterinarian was found injecting antibiotics intended for day-old chicks into ducks almost 3 weeks old. Farmers there also said they used such antibiotics while ducks were in their egg-laying period.
Cao Xingyuan, a professor from the College of Veterinarian Medicine of China Agricultural University, said owners of small poultry farms usually don’t follow drug use guidelines and the practice was likely to result in drug residue and pose health hazards for anyone eating their products.
“There are strict regulations on drug use during poultry’s egg-producing periods to prevent residue. If some ducks are sick during the egg-producing period, they should be weeded out instead of being fed with drugs,” he said.
In Shanghai, Gu Zhenhua, vice director of the city’s food and drug administration, said there were regular checks for antibiotics in poultry, poultry products, eggs and aquatic products.
“We didn’t find serious antibiotics residue on poultry and egg in routine checks, while aquatic products were detected with more severe antibiotic-related problems,” he said. “All producers and sellers involved in antibiotic residue problems will receive punishment, and the result of the routine check is published on our website for residents to check.”
In its most recent check on Wednesday, 13 batches of aquatic products, or 7.7 percent of those tested, failed to pass checks, with the main reason being drug residues, mostly antibiotics.
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