Tirupati: Strange, but true. Price of eggs might have shot up from Rs 5 to Rs 7, but the cost of chicken has dropped drastically from Rs 170 to a mere Rs 100. This phenomenon raises many doubts over quality of poultry available in the market.

In fact many customers raised questions on the genuineness of the white meat being sold. Some from Tirupati and Madanapalli have approached Municipal Health and Food officers asking them to certify the “purity” of chicken, the method adopted to raise and slaughter them.

Speculation is rife that poultry available in markets is not grown according to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) guidelines.

As per norms, the chicken can be slaughtered only after 60 days of hatching. It should have attained a weight of at least 1.8 kg with feathers.

According to reliable sources, rearers are now taking poultry to the market within 24 days, raising doubts on the methods used to raise the birds. A whistleblower hinted at the indiscriminate use of chemicals and antibiotics injections to make broiler chicken grow fatter and faster.

Complaints regarding this have already come to the notice of Tirupati and Madnapalli municipality authorities, it is learnt.