Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer
logo
Menu
Menu

FAQ

HomeFAQ
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
A. Poultry Meat (Chicken and Duck)

It is NOT true at all. Injecting hormones was practised back in the 1970’s and by the 1980’s the use of growth hormones are not permitted any more in livestock. If you happen to see a farmer injecting ‘milky coloured oil’ at the neck, it is not a hormone but a vaccine is being inoculated. Broiler chickens grow faster now mainly due to genetic improvement and the use of well formulated feed.

The use of antibiotics is strictly regulated by the Poison’s Act 1952. They are only used therapeutically on chickens affected by specific diseases and must undergo a withdrawal period before being sold. The claim of being antibiotic free is only a form of quality assurance the producer wants to associate with its brand. It does not say other chickens contain antibiotics.

Generally speaking poultry meats sold in the markets are free from antibiotics. There are government authorities that monitor the situation regularly. The poultry industry as a whole is striving to move away from antibiotics use as growth promoters. They are only used therapeutically under veterinary supervision.

It is not possible to tell from sight alone. The best safeguard is to purchase branded chickens from reputable retail outlets.

These materials are generally safe if used correctly as directed. The government is in the process of registering all these products and their use is closely monitored.
There have been very significant advances in poultry and pork production globally. Genetic selection has become the main tool of growth and production efficiency and Malaysia has widely adopted these production methods. The use of chemicals and antibiotics has strictly been prohibited by the government and the industry has moved towards the use of natural products that supports the healthy growth of chickens and pigs through the promotion of beneficial micro-organisms in their gut. More and more chickens are now grown in an environmentally controlled poultry houses.

It is generally not advisable to repeatedly thaw and freeze chicken meat as it affects quality very significantly. It is much better to divide chicken pieces in cooking portions before the initial freezing and thawed only once before cooking.

Uncooked chickens stored at chill temperature (4’C) should be consumed within 2 to 3 days. Frozen chickens (-18’C) should not be stored for more than 6 months and should not be thawed and re-frozen during the whole period. It is better if they are consumed within 3 months.

The color of poultry meat is determined by the oxygen transport mechanism to the muscle cells.
Muscles used more frequently, must use myoglobin proteins which can transfer oxygen more efficiently to the muscle cells and get to be dark. This is why non-flying poultry drumsticks have dark meat, while breast meat is white as the medium which transfers oxygen in white meat is glycogen
When dark meat is cooked it turns the myoglobins to metmyoglobins, which is brown/gray.
Dark meats tend to contain more zinc, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, vitamins B6 and B12, amino acids, iron than white meat. Dark beef contains about 11 times more zinc than tuna, and about 3 times as much iron than raw spinach. Chicken dark meat contain vitamins A, K, B6, B12, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, minerals as selenium, phosphorus and zinc.

There is not significant difference in the nutritional value of chicken and duck meats. Consumption is largely determined by taste and price affordability.

The information is as below:

Chicken liver and intestine are part of the internal organs of the chicken. While some consumers regard them as delicacies, their high minerals, vitamins and fat content in the liver should be taken into account and taken moderately only.

It is a historical fact that Bukit Mertajam was among the first location where broiler chickens were produced in this country. The yellowish color in chickens results from being fed with extra amounts of carotenoids, the precursor for Vitamin A and thus appear to be different from normal chickens. Such chickens can be produced anywhere and is not exclusive to Bukit Mertajam.

The price of chicken in the market is determined by the laws of supply and demand. The produces are offered a buying price by the wholesalers based on their perceived level of supply compared to consumer demand at any particular time. Both supply and demand factors vary with time.

A product is only certified halal if it bears the JAKIM logo or the halal mark of the religious authority of the respective state the chicken is sold.

B. Poultry Egg (Chicken and Duck)

A1. Egg is rich in nutrients and a very affordable component of a healthy diet, containing varying amounts of essential vitamins and minerals needed by consumers as well asother beneficial food components.

A2. When a fresh egg is broken into a dish the egg yolk is firm, and not broken, and it is surrounded by the albumin (egg white) which appear fresh and untainted. Scientifically, you can test the freshness by measuring egg white (albumin) using an apparatus which measures the‘ Haugh Unit’.

A3. Different breeds of chickens can lay eggs with shell colour varying from white through brown and to rarer colours such as speckled green. There is absolutely no nutritional differences although there is a preference for one colour over another by different societies and countries.

A4. Eggs produced by backyard farms have a slightly different flavor from eggs produced in battery caged hens. This is mainly due to the feed source as backyard chickens forage for food from the environment while caged birds eat commercially prepared rations. The Department of Veterinary Services’s Salt Programme ensures proper usage of antibiotic. This programme also reduces incidence of salmonella contaminated egg where as Kampong Eggs have higher incidence of salmonella contamination.
A5. There is no nutritional value difference. Only the taste may be slightly different due to the dietary effect of the chickens that lay the eggs.
A6. The omega-3 is found in the yolk. Just as with other foods, eggs should be eaten in moderation and proportionate to the life style of the individual. Physically active people can eat more as they burn more calories.
A7. Cholesterol is present in eggs. The term high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) refers to the mechanism of transport of cholesterol in the serum of the circulatory system. There is no reference to good or bad cholesterol in eggs.
A8. Cholesterol is mostly found in the yolk. It is more practical to consume the whole egg but practice moderation and balance with the consumption of other foods.

A9. The level of cholesterol in a person is determined by the sum of cholesterol intake and the amount manufactured by the body. It is safe to take eggs on a daily basis as long as there is a reduction in the intake of other foods containing cholesterol and lipids.

A10. For egg yolk, the intensity of the yellowish or orange color is dependent on the level of carotenoids (xanthophylls) in the feed. Yellow corn and corn gluten, which is the main ingredient in poultry feed, do have substantial levels of carotenoids. To make egg yolk extra orange in color extra ‘reddish’ carotenoids called cathaxanthin, which can be found in marigold flower or pappricca (red chilli) is added. Carotenoids are precursors of vitamin A. Those are all natural ingredients.
A11. Chicken eggs produced locally are under close scrutiny of the Department of Veterinary Services. No abuse of antibiotic is allowed. There is no known negative health effect from consuming eggs with antibiotic residues. The fear is the residues will cause bacteria in the body to develop resistance to the antibiotics concerned.

A12. There is no way of knowing the eggs are free from antibiotics. The only way is to test them in the laboratory.

A13. The eggs purchased from the market or vendors are safe to be consumed s long as they are fresh and appears normal.
A14. Table eggs kept at room temperature is best consumed within 1 week of purchase. They can however remain safe to cook and eat up to two weeks.

A15. Table 2:

Nutrition Statement

Nutrient or Other Component

Quantity in One Large Egg*

Percent of Daily Value**

Calories

75

4

Total Fat

5 g

8

Saturated Fat

1.5 g

8

Cholesterol

211.5 mg

70

Protein

6.3 g

13

Vitamin A

243 IU

5

Vitamin D

17 IU

4

Vitamin E

0.75 mg

3

Vitamin B12

0.6 mcg

10

Vitamin B6

0.07 mg

4

Folate

24 mcg

6

Thiamin

0.031 mg

2

Riboflavin

0.24 mg

14

Phosphorus

95 mg

10

Zinc

0.55 mg

3

Iron

0.91 mg

5

Choline

125 mg

22

Lutein & Zeaxanthin

165 mcg

n/a

* Large eggs are the size most commonly sold in the U.S. Eggs of larger or smaller sizes contain proportionally greater or lesser amounts of nutrients.

** Based on 2,000 calorie intake; for adults and children greater than or equal to 4 years of age.

Source: www.aeb.org

C. Pork

A1. Prudent use of antibiotic to treat only sick animals is the key principle. Safe pork comes from healthy animal. With proper antibiotic withdrawal period, the antibiotic residue is minimal, and it won’t create human health problems. The government is currently implementing product registration for drugs used in animals, eventually only registered antibiotics will be allowed to be used.

A2. The internal organs of pigs are rich in minerals, vitamins and fat. They are safe to be eaten in moderation and balanced with the intake of other foods.

A3. Eating liver when there is no other protein source available is relatively safe. Since liver has a higher content of minerals and vitamins as well as fat its intake should be reduced proportionately with the intake of other protein foods.

A4. There is no standard definition of “organic” in terms of food labeling in this country so any claims of being organic should be taken at face value.
A5. “Rou Gan” may contain certain coloring agent. But usually the coloring agent is safe and approved by the controlling authority – the Food Safety Division of the Ministry of Health.
A6. Claims made on food labels are subject to the labeling laws of the country and the people responsible for the labels are liable for its accuracy. Freedom from beta agonists can only be verified by laboratory tests. Any company making such claim should get an authorized laboratory to issue the certification on the claim. As a consumer, you can ask from the shop or company for proof of their claim.
A7. Pork from pigs fed with illegal beta agonists cannot be identified by looking grossly at the meat. It can only be confirmed by chemical tests in a laboratory.

A8. According to the Pig Farmers Association self surveillance program which is done twice a year, and recognized by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), the incidence of using illegal beta agonist is now minimal, with only few cases detected out of 565 farms inspected. We still continue to educate our members not to use illegal compound and aims to reach zero misuse eventually.

If in doubt, call DVS hotline at 03-88702000

A9. Pig farmers castrate their male piglets to remove the boar taint in pork. Castration is mostly done mechanically using a knife and not by the use of chemicals. Castration using a vaccine is however approved for use in this country. This is not considered chemical castration.
D. General Questions

A1. The information is as below:

A. 家禽肉类（鸡肉与鸭肉）

A1. 这是完全不正确的。肉鸡注射荷尔蒙发生在1970年代，但自1980年代起，成长荷尔蒙便不被准许用在任何禽畜身上。倘若您发现一名农民正在注射一种”牛奶色的油”在鸡颈，那不是荷尔蒙而是在接种疫苗。肉鸡现在成长较快，主要是因为遗传改良以及更好的饲料配方。

A2. 1952年毒品法令严格监管抗生素的使用。它们只用在治疗受特定疾病感染的鸡只，而且鸡只在出售前必须遵守停药期。所谓的不含抗生素只是生产人要将之与其品牌相联的一种品质保证的形式。它并未指其他鸡只含抗生素。
A3. 一般说来，市场上售卖的鸡肉并不含抗生素残余。政府部门定期监察有关情况。家禽业整体来说正致力摒弃以抗生素作为生长促进剂。抗生素仅在兽医监督下作为治疗用途。
A4. 这不可能单凭一眼就可知道。最安全的方法还是向著名的零售店购买有品牌的鸡只。
A5. 这些东西如果正确地根据指示来使用，一般上是安全的。政府正在进行注册这些产品并且严密监管其使用。
A6. 全球的家禽和猪肉生产已经取得非常重大的进展。遗传选拔已成为禽畜成长和生产效率的主要工具而马来西亚也广泛地采纳这种生产方式。政府严格禁止化学药物和荷尔蒙的使用，而禽畜业也朝向使用自然产品如有效微生物来支持鸡猪的健康成长。有更多的鸡只现在是饲养在有良好环境控制的鸡舍内。
A7. 一般上，将鸡肉解冻后又再次冷冻的做法并不受鼓励，因为它明显地影响其品质。比较好的做法是在最初的冷冻之前，将鸡肉根据要煮的份量分门别类，并且在煮食之前仅解冻一次。
A8. 冷藏在4°C温度的未烹煮鸡肉应当在2至3天内食用。冷冻鸡肉(-18°C) 不应储藏超过6个月，而且在这整段时间不应解冻了又冷冻。最好是在3个月内食用。

A9. 禽肉的颜色是由肌肉细胞的氧气输送系统来决定的。肌肉通常必须通过肌红蛋白更有效地输送氧气至肌肉细胞，并使到鸡肉较深色。这是为何不会飞的家禽腿肉颜色较深，而胸肉颜色较白，因为白肉输送氧气的媒介是肝醣。

当深色肉在烹煮时，它将肌红蛋白转为变性肌红蛋白，其色为褐色/灰色。

深色肉比白肉倾向于含有较多的锌，核黄素，烟酸，维生素B1， B6 及B12，氨基酸，铁质。深色牛肉比金枪鱼含有多11倍的锌，以及比生菠菜多3倍的铁。鸡肉的深色肉含维生素A, K, B6, B12, 烟酸，叶酸，泛酸，矿物质如硒，磷和锌。

A10. 鸡肉和鸭肉的营养价值并无很大的差异。人们是根据其味道和价格来决定消费。

鸡肉和其他肉类有同样的营养。有关营养方面的知识鼓励我们吃不同种类的肉类，而且要吃得适量。鸡肉的消耗量高主要是因为它具竞争性的价格。表1 显示各种肉类的营养价值。
资料来源: FAO (2007), Meat Process Technology.
A12. 鸡肝和小肠是鸡只部分的内部器官。当部分顾客将之视为美味佳肴之时，应考虑到它们过高的矿物质，维生素和肝内的脂肪成分，适量食用。
A13. 大山脚是我国最早的肉鸡生产区之一，这是一个历史事实。其鸡只的鸡皮较黄是因为被饲以额外的类胡萝卜素，维生素A前体，故而呈现出和其他鸡只不同的皮色。类似的鸡可在任何地方生产，非大山脚专有。
A14. 市面上肉鸡的价格乃由供应与需求的法则来决定。批发商根据特定时期他们所知的供应量和消费者的需求量，向生产人开出购买价格。供与求二者皆随时间而改变。
Q15. 是否所有的鸡肉产品都获得清真认证？


资料来源：兽医局[/caption]

B. 家禽蛋类（鸡蛋与鸭蛋）

A1. 蛋的营养丰富，并且是一个负担得起的健康饮食，富含各种人体所需的必须维生素和矿物质以及其他有益的成份。

A2. 当敲开新鲜蛋在碗中，其蛋黄结实又不破，并且被新鲜又清澈的蛋清（蛋白）所包围。在科学上，您可以利用一种仪器测量蛋白（蛋清）的”haugh unit” 来测试蛋的新鲜度。
A3. 不同品种的鸡下不同蛋壳颜色的蛋，从白色至褐色甚至是绿色斑点的稀有颜色都有。虽然各不同社群和国家对不同蛋壳颜色各有所好，但它们在营养上完全没有差别。

A4. 后院式农场和封闭式农场(battery caged) 生产的蛋味道稍有不同。这主要是因为饲料来源有异；后院饲养的土鸡吃的是从四周环境取得的食物而养在笼里的鸡则食用商业性饲料配方。一般农场都有兽医局的卫生鉴定计划，督查农场正确使用任何药品，而且此鉴定计划亦减少沙门氏杆菌污染鸡蛋的机率；反而后院饲养的土鸡蛋沙门氏杆菌污染的机率更高。

A5. 它们在营养方面并无不同。只有口感方面因为产蛋之鸡只的饲料而稍为有所差异。

A6. 欧美加3是在蛋黄内。像其他食物一样，应适量以及和个人的生活方式相称的食用蛋类。体力活跃者可以多吃因为他们燃烧较多的卡路里。

A7. 胆固醇出现在蛋中。高密度脂蛋白和低密度脂蛋白的术语是指血液循环系统中胆固醇的输送机制。蛋中的胆固醇并不能分类为低或多的胆固醇。
A8. 胆固醇大多出现在蛋黄内。比较实际的做法是吃完整粒蛋，但要注意和其他食物同吃时的饮食均衡之问题。

A9. 一个人的胆固醇水平是由胆固醇摄入量以及人体所生产的胆固醇数量所决定。只要减少其他含胆固醇和油脂食物的摄入量，每天吃蛋是安全的。

A10. 蛋黄颜色的浓度胥视饲料中的类胡萝卜素份量的多寡。主要的家禽饲料原料，黄色玉米和玉米蛋白，的确有大量的类胡萝卜素。要让蛋黄颜色更加橙黄，就要额外添加 “带红色”的类胡萝卜素，即cathaxanthin，它可在万寿菊或者pappricca （红辣椒）取得。类胡萝卜素是维生素A的初期形式。这些全都是天然素材。
A11. 国内生产的鸡蛋都在兽医局的卫生鉴定计划下受到严密监督，农民不能滥用抗生素。目前还不知道食用含抗生素残余物的蛋对健康有什么害处。只是担心残余物会导致细菌在体内对有关的抗生素产生抗体。
A12. 唯一得知蛋含不含抗生素的办法就是在化验室进行测试。
A13. 只要这些蛋新鲜和看来正常，就是安全可食用。
A14. 蛋在室温下最好是在购买后的一周内吃完。不过，它们还是可以在二周的时间内安全煮食和享用。
A15. 表2：
营养列表
营养或其他成份 在一粒大蛋中的数量* 每日数值 百分比**
Calories 卡路里 75 4
Total Fat 总脂肪 5 g 8
Saturated Fat 饱和脂肪 1.5 g 8
Cholesterol 胆固醇 211.5 mg 70
Protein 蛋白质 6.3 g 13
Vitamin A 维生素 A 243 IU 5
Vitamin D 维生素 D 17 IU 4
Vitamin E 维生素 E 0.75 mg 3
Vitamin B12 维生素 B12 0.6 mcg 10
Vitamin B6 维生素 B6 0.07 mg 4
Folate 叶酸 24 mcg 6
Thiamin维生素 B1 0.031 mg 2
Riboflavin 核黄素 0.24 mg 14
Phosphorus 磷 95 mg 10
Zinc 锌 0.55 mg 3
Iron 铁 0.91 mg 5
Choline 胆碱 125 mg 22
Lutein & Zeaxanthin 叶黄素与玉米黄质 165 mcg 不详
* 大蛋是在美国最普遍售卖的蛋。较大或小粒的蛋营养照比例。
** 根据 2,000 卡路里的摄入量；成人及4岁或以上的儿童。
资料来源: www.aeb.org
C. 猪肉
A1. 谨慎使用抗生素并且只用来治疗生病的动物，是关键原则。安全可食用的猪肉来自健康猪只。根据正常的停药期，抗生素的残余物是微小的，并且不会影响人体健康。政府目前实行动物药物产品注册，最终只有已注册了的抗生素可以使用。
A2. 猪内脏含丰富矿物质，维生素与脂肪。适量食用是安全的，以及确保饮食均衡。
A3. 若没有同时食用其他蛋白质食物，吃猪肝是相当安全的。由于猪肝有高矿物质与维生素，以及脂肪，在食用其他蛋白质食物时，其摄入量应当根据比例来减少。
A4. 本国的食物标签并无”有机”的标准定义。因此，任何自称有机的声明只能以表面视之。
A5. 猪肉干可能含特定的色素。然而这些色素已经管制单位， 即卫生部的食品安全组所批准，所以是安全的。
A6. 商家在食品标签上的说明，必须遵循这个国家的标签法令，而有关人士必须对其标签的准确性负责。有无乙型受体素，必须经过化验室的验证。任何作出此声明的公司应获得授权的化验室发出有关的证明书。作为一个消费人，您可以向有关商店或公司索讨此证明书。
A7. 猪肉是否来自喂了非法乙型受体素的猪只，并不能从猪肉表面一眼看出来。这只可以通过化验室的化学测试来证实。

A8. 根据养猪公会受兽医局承认并一年进行两次的养猪农场自我监察计划，使用非法乙型受体素的发生率很小，在565家受检农场中仅有数宗而已。我们仍然持续的教育会员切勿使用非法药物并且在最终达到零乙型受体素的目标。

若有任何疑问，请联络兽医局热线号码：03-88702000。

A9. 猪农阉割雄的仔猪以消除猪肉的公猪味道。阉割通常是以刀而非化学药物来进行。不过，我国也批准采用疫苗来阉割公猪。这不是化学式阉割。
D. 一般问题

A1. 各种肉类的营养成分如下：