Case study no. 4 Imported turkey meat with antibiotics

Introduction A case study conducted in Germany revealed the fact that almost all the turkey meat produced in this country contains antibiotics. Romania imports from Germany more than tons of turkey every year. Johannes Remmel, the Customer Protection specialist who conducted this case study, which was the first study of this kind conducted in Germany, declared that 95% of over 19 million turkeys are injected with antibiotics. According to German laws, antibiotics should be administered only to sick animals, and the authorities promised they would tighten up controls and pay more attention to the medicine administered to animals.

A five-year project to reduce antibiotics administered The German Farmers Association initiated a project by which they intend to reduce by 30% the antibiotics administered to turkeys over the next 5 years. Producers administer large quantities of medicine to turkeys so they would grow as fast as possible and they would not get any disease, with the aim of obtaining the largest profit.

Romania imports turkey meat from Germany Romania imports turkey meat from Germany. In 2011, for example, there have already been imported about tons. The turkey meat necessary for local consumption is provided mostly by local production. This explains the fact that turkeys are imported in carcass from Holland and they are processed in Romania: the processed turkey breast returns to Holland in packages.

Romanian producers do not use antibiotics, as a rule Romanian turkey producers use antibiotics only following analyses performed by veterinary doctors, who recommend their administration based on the results of these analyses. Antibiotics administering in our farms is done, if applicable, only under the surveillance of the Sanitary Veterinary Authority.

Questions How was it revealed that almost all the turkey meat produced in this country contains antibiotics? Under what conditions are antibiotics administered to turkeys in Germany?