Poultry declared safe after toxin scare

More than 150,000 chickens exposed to potentially toxic levels of a chemical used to control parasites are safe to eat, according to Australian health authorities.

200,000 chickens at two poultry farms near Brisbane were exposed to a food mix containing dangerous levels of Nicarbazin. Almost a quarter of the chickens died.

But Queensland Health and Safe Food Queensland has approved the remaining chickens for sale to the public after testing showed they were not contaminated.

Queensland Health acting chief health officer Linda Selvey said the chemical was not retained in the animals, so they were safe to eat.

She declined to name the two farms affected.

"We believe that the meat is suitable for eating and we are obligated under the Food Safety Act not to reveal such identities," she said.

Andreas Dubs of the Australian Chicken Meat Federation concurred that the chicken meat was safe for public consumption.

"They are absolutely safe. Some of their colleagues have ingested too much of this chemical, they died but those that survived actually recovered pretty quickly."

Food Standards Australia spokesman Lydia Buchtmann said authorities would not allow contaminated meat onto the market.

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Editor WorldPoultry