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Bernard Matthews halts sale of foreign-raised turkeys
By Andrew Jack
Published: July 25 2008 18:06 | Last updated: July 25 2008 18:06
Bernard Matthews Foods is to stop selling turkeys raised outside the UK, a move designed to address concerns that its outbreak of bird flu two years ago may have been caused by infected birds imported from sub-contractors in Hungary.
Jeremy Hall, who coordinated the company’s response, said “many learned people had their doubts” that the virus was imported in carcasses or equipment travelling from Hungary to its plants in East Anglia, but the move “removes any potential risk”.
The decision, which affects less than 2 per cent of the birds sold by the company, is one of a number of initiatives taken in response to the H5N1 outbreak that triggered widespread culling and damaged Bernard Matthews’ sales and reputation.
Mr Hall, who recently gave a presentation on the subject to the food industry, warned that bird flu in animals could become an annual event in Europe. He called on policymakers to strengthen cross-border exchange of information.
He said reduced purchases of imported meat could help cut the risk of infection, but argued there was evidence the virus spread through wild migratory birds.
In spite of recent improvements, he said it could take two months before European Union countries identifying a bird flu outbreak provided the information to a central database available to industry.
He argued that following infection reports elsewhere in Europe, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) should be more willing than it is now to announce “housing orders”, which allow poultry breeders to bring birds indoors for several weeks to keep them safe without losing the right to label them free range.
Mr Hall said Defra remained reluctant to make such orders unless there were infections in the UK, France or the Netherlands, and was sceptical it would unveil any change in policy ahead of Christmas.
He said officials had refused to allow workers culling birds at Bernard Matthews’ plant to wear full face masks, encouraging them to switch to less practical goggles in spite of written instructions to the contrary.
By Andrew Jack
Published: July 25 2008 18:06 | Last updated: July 25 2008 18:06
Bernard Matthews Foods is to stop selling turkeys raised outside the UK, a move designed to address concerns that its outbreak of bird flu two years ago may have been caused by infected birds imported from sub-contractors in Hungary.
Jeremy Hall, who coordinated the company’s response, said “many learned people had their doubts” that the virus was imported in carcasses or equipment travelling from Hungary to its plants in East Anglia, but the move “removes any potential risk”.
The decision, which affects less than 2 per cent of the birds sold by the company, is one of a number of initiatives taken in response to the H5N1 outbreak that triggered widespread culling and damaged Bernard Matthews’ sales and reputation.
Mr Hall, who recently gave a presentation on the subject to the food industry, warned that bird flu in animals could become an annual event in Europe. He called on policymakers to strengthen cross-border exchange of information.
He said reduced purchases of imported meat could help cut the risk of infection, but argued there was evidence the virus spread through wild migratory birds.
In spite of recent improvements, he said it could take two months before European Union countries identifying a bird flu outbreak provided the information to a central database available to industry.
He argued that following infection reports elsewhere in Europe, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) should be more willing than it is now to announce “housing orders”, which allow poultry breeders to bring birds indoors for several weeks to keep them safe without losing the right to label them free range.
Mr Hall said Defra remained reluctant to make such orders unless there were infections in the UK, France or the Netherlands, and was sceptical it would unveil any change in policy ahead of Christmas.
He said officials had refused to allow workers culling birds at Bernard Matthews’ plant to wear full face masks, encouraging them to switch to less practical goggles in spite of written instructions to the contrary.
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