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December 20, 2012

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'Instant chicken' farms shut down

Food safety authorities in Qingdao City have closed two farms where workers were said to have fed chickens illegal drugs and 18 kinds of antibiotics to boost their growth.

Late yesterday, the animal husbandry and veterinary bureau of Shandong Province issued the findings of four investigation teams sent to the cities of Qingdao, Weifang, Linyi and Zaozhuang on Tuesday.

Several chicken farms, including a farm belonging to Yingtai Co, had been under investigation, the bureau said.

Relevant people responsible for these farms have been detained by police or are under further investigation, it said.

Two slaughterhouses of Shandong Liuhe Group and Yingtai Co have been ordered to halt production, and all raw chicken products in the slaughterhouses sealed until samples can be tested, the bureau said.

The bureau also said it would launch supervision over the usage of veterinary medicine across the province.

Slaughterhouse workers were reported to have killed chickens without any quarantine inspection procedures, Xinmin Evening News reported.

The actions follow a report by China Central Television on Tuesday that said some poultry suppliers in Shandong Province accelerated the growth of chickens by using chemicals-laced feed.

Farm workers were filmed pouring bottles of medicine, additives and up to 18 kinds of antibiotic into the feed to keep the chickens alive and speed up their growth.

Overcrowded houses

Poultry farmers told reporters that without antibiotics, their chickens could die within two days in overcrowded chicken houses.

Qingdao government officials said they would punish the companies involved if tests indicated wrongdoing and problem products would be recalled and destroyed.

According to CCTV footage, batches of what it called "instant chicken" were ready to be served at fast food restaurants after they were transported to the Shanghai logistics center of Yum Brands Inc, the world's largest restaurant company and owner of KFC and Pizza Hut.

Officials at the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration said that they had launched an investigation into Yum Brands, which was reported to have purchased the batches of chicken and stored them at its logistics center.

The investigation found that the center purchased the last batch of chicken from the Liuhe Group in May and sold all of it. After that, it no longer bought goods from the company, the center said.

The FDA said on Tuesday that they were checking 32 samples from eight kinds of poultry products stored at the logistics center, and the results would be known as early as today.

In the news program, a CCTV reporter followed a truck carrying the chicken and found that it was taken to Yum Brands' logistics center and later sent to its restaurants, including a KFC in the Pudong New Area.

KFC has about 300 stores in Shanghai.

KFC China said the company stopped buying chicken from the Liuhe Group in August.




 

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