Jakarta Globe, Naveen Thukral & Gavin Maguire, May 17, 2015
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| Chickens bred with drug-free feed rest in their coop as lights are dimmed and classical music by Mozart is being played in the background at Kee Song Brothers' drug-free poultry farm in Yong Peng, in Malaysia's southern state of Johor April 16, 2015. (Reuters Photo/Edgar Su) |
Yong Peng,
Malaysia. In barns filled with classical music and lighting that changes to
match the hues outside, rows of chickens are fed a diet rich in probiotics, a
regimen designed to remove the need for the drugs and chemicals that have
tainted the global food chain.
As food
giants face growing pressure to offer healthier produce, Southeast Asian
poultry firm Kee Song Group says its use of “good” bacteria in feed and water
means it can meet one the industry’s biggest challenges: how to mass produce
drug and hormone-free poultry at a reasonable price.
A series of
scandals in the last few years —from melamine-tainted milk powder in China,
horse meat supplied as beef in Europe and growth drugs causing lameness in US
cattle — has triggered a consumer backlash over food standards and safety.
Recently,
Tyson Foods pledged to eliminate the use of human antibiotics in chicken by
2017, one of the most aggressive timetables yet by a US poultry firm.
The top
American poultry producer, which supplies fast-food chains such as McDonald’s,
is among a number of groups globally incorporating probiotics into feed.
“For meat
producers, reputation risks are becoming stronger driving companies to focus on
safe ingredients specially in Europe and the United States,” said Pawan Kumar,
director for food and agricultural research at Rabobank in Singapore.
Kee Song
says the cost to produce drug-free chickens using probiotics is now only 10-12
percent more than using antibiotic-fed poultry. It sells these birds at a 30
percent premium in stores, far less than expensive free-range organic chicken.
The firm
annually produces around 4 million drug-free birds at its Malaysian farms in
Yong Peng, 125 km north-west of Singapore, and aims to expand sales to China
and the West.
“Probiotics,
either alone or in combination with essential oils and organic acids, are at
the forefront of international approaches to replace antibiotics,” said Wayne
Bryden, Professor of Animal Science at the University of Queensland.
Probiotics
populate the gut with healthy bacteria in a bid to curb bad bacteria, while
oils and organic acids are also often included in feed to aid digestion.
A team at
the Australian university, partly funded by feed maker Ridley AgriProducts,
have found in preliminary trials that using a probiotic can double the
efficiency of use of protein from feed to boost weigh gain in livestock.
Superbugs
An
estimated 80 percent of antibiotics used in the United States are administered
to livestock with the use expected to surge by two thirds globally between 2010
and 2030.
Scientists
are worried the practice could spur antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
McDonald’s
has also pledged to eliminate chickens fed on human antibiotics at its US
restaurants and is looking at similar steps in Asia.
“In Asia
Pacific, we will be working with our supply partners and relevant experts to
implement this enhanced measure,” a company spokesperson said via email.
While
demand for healthier products is increasing fast in the West, some experts say
that in parts of Asia customers will not be prepared to pay more for drug-free
poultry, though China could be a promising market after high-profile food
scares.
Mozart and
blue lighting
In Kee
Song’s Malaysian poultry farm, 20,000 chickens rest on saw dust in the dimly
lit barns, with feed and water laced with probiotics being automatically pumped
into feeding pans.
As well as
playing Mozart, lighting is used in a bid to keep the birds tranquil with neon
blue lighting turned on when the birds are taken for slaughter.
“Look at
the environment, chickens stay healthy and happy here,” the firm’s Chairman Ong
Kee Song told Reuters.
“Even the
droppings don’t smell,” added Ong, who has been a vegetarian for 17 years after
a stay at a Buddhist temple.
Traditional
chicken farms are notorious for producing noxious fumes as well as loud noise
from squawking birds.
Growth
hormones mixed with feed can also produce oversized breasts and wings that
underdeveloped legs struggle to support for more than a few steps.
Chia Tet
Fatt, a molecular geneticist who previously was a professor at Singapore’s
Nanyang Technological University teamed up with Kee Song to produce the
probiotic used, lactobacillus, and confirmed chickens were not fed any drugs or
antibiotics.
Tan Chee
Kiang, vice president of Charoen Pokphand, the world’s biggest animal feed
miller, also said the feed it supplied to Kee Song was free of antibiotics.
By not
using drugs, the poultry farms need to maintain stringent cleanliness measures
to avoid the risk of infection and it takes three days more than conventionally
produced chickens to attain a commercially viable weight of 1.8 to 2.0 kg.
As well as
supplying supermarkets, Kee Song also sells to some restaurants in Singapore,
including French restaurant Cocotte, where the chicken is used for a signature
dish.
Reuters
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