There is no health risk in eating broiler chicken as it contains antibiotic and heavy metal residues far below the maximum tolerable levels in meat, said Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque on Thursday.
The minister disclosed the information at a press briefing at the Secretariat, in light of research conducted by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) under the initiative and funding of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Conducted between January to June 2022, the research shows that very small amounts of two antibiotics (oxytetracycline and doxycycline) and three heavy metals (arsenic, chromium and lead) were present in broiler chicken meat, bones and composites.
The amount of such antibiotics and heavy metals found in the meat are not unusual and are in fact far below maximum tolerable levels in meat, the research added.
Speaking at the briefing, the minister said broiler meat available in supermarkets has lower levels of antibiotics and heavy metals than those in farms and kitchen markets.
Campaigns in various newspapers and social media show that broiler meat contains antibiotics, heavy metals and other harmful substances that are harmful to human health.
Due to this kind of misleading information, a misconception has been created among the public about broiler meat leading to less consumption of broiler meat, said Razzaque.
“As a result, the broiler industry faces a great loss which we have seen during the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. Consumption of nutritious broiler meat was reduced in the early stages of the disease outbreak,” added the minister.
If the demand for broilers can be increased, it is possible to increase production by making full use of the existing farms and infrastructure in the country, said the agriculture minister, urging all to popularise broiler meat among people.
So, the broiler chicken market will grow rapidly, the establishment of the poultry meat processing industry will increase, employment will be created and a large amount of foreign exchange will also be earned through exports, he said.
“Besides, campaigns and public awareness should be created on the consumption of broiler chicken to build a healthy nation, meet the demand for meat and create employment.”
Speaking at the press briefing, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim said the government is trying to modernise the poultry sector and provide government support for its development.
“We have also requested NBR (National Board of Revenue) to give duty concession on import of poultry feed,” he added.
