Cyberabad police seize 100 tonnes of chicken waste in raids

Indian Opinion Analysis

The Hyderabad police have escalated enforcement against a shadowy supply chain linking city chicken shops to Andhra fish farms. Poultry waste is supposed to go to the Chengicherla rendering plant, instead, unlicensed operators have been moving it hundreds of kilometres to commercial aquaculture tanks in West Godavari and Nalgonda. This is a food-safety issue with a clear regulatory path: the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) prohibits using untreated animal waste as fish feed, and the Telangana State Veterinary Department can cancel business licences of shops that supply it. Two seizures totalling 190 tonnes in two months suggest the practice is widespread, not isolated. Watch for whether the Cyberabad police now file a chargesheet naming the fish-buyers, and whether the Andhra Pradesh fisheries department inspects the ponds that received the waste. A 2022 FSSAI study found that farmed fish fed with poultry litter accumulate heavy metals and antibiotic residues, consumers have no way to tell where their fish was fed.