QuickCheck: Are local chickens being fed non-halal feed as per a viral message?

WHENEVER we buy our food, we generally trust that it is safe for consumption and that it is safe to be eaten without any suspicion or worry that it has been contaminated in some way.

Recently, a message claiming that local chickens are being fed non-halal food – specifically items extracted from the remains of pigs - went viral on WhatsApp.

Is there any truth to this claim?

VERDICT:

FALSE

In a statement, the Veterinary Services Department (VSD) said that this is in fact untrue.

“The claim that commercial chicken feed contains ingredients derived from the remains of pigs is an old issue that surfaced in 2007,” it said.

The VSD added that it had answered the allegations with the help of Jakim in 2016.

“The claim is illogical because it would not only involve a high production cost, the use of any blood meal or bone meal requires VSD approval,” it said.

The VSD then added that the production of commercial food for chickens is governed by the Feed Act 2009, which controls the quality of animal feed in the country.

It said that the feed used for chickens is made up of 55% corn kernels and 25% soya bean meal, with corn providing the calories and soya meal the protein.

The VSD said that of the remainder, 15% is made up of other ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, fish meal, wheat bran, wheat pollard or corn gluten meal while the final 5% is made up of either palm oil or crushed rice.

“The VSD asks all Malaysians to be constantly careful with the spread of baseless information on social media,” it added in a post on its official Facebook account.

COMPLIMENTARY, TRUE OR NOT

QuickCheck, True or Not, StarVerified, Chickens, Feed, Halal status, Bone meal, Blood meal, Ingredients, Commercial feed