Consumers assured poultry is safe to buy

CONSUMERS were last night told they could keep on eating chicken and turkey as normal.

Shops also moved yesterday to reassure the public over the safety of cooked Bernard Matthews turkey products.

Tesco, Ireland’s biggest grocer, continues to stock the firm’s products but insists none originated in the affected plant in Suffolk, in the east of England.

“The range of Bernard Matthews products we stock is small enough and we’ve no intention at this stage to remove them from our shelves,” said a spokesperson.

SuperValu said it did not stock Bernard Matthews produce, adding that all the store’s poultry was 100% Irish, from farms in Co Monaghan.

Superquinn yesterday put a block on ordering further Bernard Matthews supplies but said existing products would be sold.

No one was available for comment from Dunnes Stores.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) yesterday said the public could continue to eat chicken, turkey and other poultry products as normal.

But they stressed that shoppers must ensure all poultry meat is stored, handled and cooked properly.

“Poultry should be cooked to reach at least 70 degrees Celsius in all parts of the product, ensuring that it is piping hot all the way through, with no pink meat left and until the juices run clear,” FSAI spokeswoman Jane Ryder said.

“Normal cooking temperatures of over 70 degrees Celsius will kill the virus, if present, and therefore consumption of properly cooked poultry meat carries no risk of infection with the avian influenza virus.”

Ms Ryder said hands, utensils and cooking surfaces ought to be thoroughly cleaned after the preparation of raw poultry, which should be stored separately from other foods.

The FSAI’s veterinary experts said no human had ever caught the avian influenza virus from eating properly cooked poultry.

Public health officials said humans who had caught the avian influenza virus in the Far East had been in close contact with live poultry.

The FSAI said Ireland was currently free from avian influenza but there were measures in place to prevent the importation of products from countries where cases have occurred.

The FSAI is also liaising with the Department of Agriculture and Food, as well as the authorities in Britain and the North.

Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan announced a ban yesterday on the movement of birds from Britain to Ireland for “gatherings or shows”.

“The ban is purely precautionary and will not include poultry travelling from Northern Ireland for such gatherings and shows,” a statement from the department said.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) said flock owners here had high-level measures in place to prevent poultry from coming into contact with wild birds.