Unfortunately, it is widely thought that both white and red meat are full of hormones and antibiotics. But this is not true. Today´s chickens grow faster than years ago, and this is not because they are given hormones, which are banned in Europe (as well as the use of antibiotics as preventive measures, banned in Europe since 2006), but it is a result of crossbreeding with fast growing-breeds, to get more meat ready in a few months.

Furthermore, the use of growth hormones in meat production would also not be cost-effective, while thanks to genetics, is now known how to crossbreed to meet the market demands.

Farmers work hard to ensure animal welfare, trying to avoid giving them medicines: therefore it is important to follow some basic living conditions such as proper lighting, proper ventilation and optimal room temperature, as well as clean litter boxes.

Antibiotics are given in case the animals are sick. In Italy, antibiotics, when dissolved in water, are used only for 3-5 days when the first signs of an infection appear even on only few animals. It is the company´s veterinarian responsibility to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the treatment.

Treatments are recorded on three medical prescriptions addressed to the Local Health Authority (ASL), to the pharmacy and to the person in charge of the facility. Dosage and dosing schedule are designed to ensure that no antibiotic residue remains in the meat we eat.

For safety reasons, it is also mandatory to maintain a “withdrawal time” before slaughter, a certain amount of time required after administration of drugs, needed to ensure that drug residues in the marketable products (meat, milk, eggs) are below a determined Maximum Residue Limit (MRL).

Pharmaceutical companies establish appropriate withdrawal times for each drug molecule, to make sure that any residues are well below the allowed MRL. In addition to MRL, there is also the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), which is the amount of a specific substance that can be ingested on a daily basis over a lifetime without an appreciable health risk.

The laws consider studies that give values even 100 times lower than the safe values: in other words, if the law sets a limit of 1, it means that research has established a safety limit of even 100.

The specialists of the local health authorities make periodic checks without notice, in farms, when it is time to slaughter and in stores. The annual report on the inspections carried out to protect farm animals, shows that it is not frequent anymore to catch someone who does not obey the laws.

Definitely a black market exists, and as in all fields there is honest and dishonest people, but the phenomenon is restrained and it is wrong to generalize saying that “all the meats are full of hormones and antibiotics”, without considering the safety threshold.

Not respecting the safety threshold is considered a crime, thus the inspections are meant to check this. In Italy, the controls are scrupulous and in any case no large companies want to risk their reputation of food fraud. People in the past have propagated many generalizations to pursuit their own interests, for example vegetarians opposed to the consumption of meat (see the case of bovine full of antibiotics and hormones).

Thanks to the integrated supply chain, poultry production industry is one of the most monitored. In case of fraud, administrative and criminal liabilities are immediately identified, and company´s public image will be seriously damaged.

Susanna Bramante

Susanna Bramante is an agronomist and scientific writer, author and co-author of 11 scientific publications and numerous articles on human nutrition and its impact on health and environment. In 2010 she received the title of Doctor Europaeus and PhD in Animal Production, Health and Food Hygiene in countries with a Mediterranean climate.