UK officials to brief TDs on bird flu outbreak

Officials from the departments of Health and Agriculture will today brief TDs and Senators on the UK avian flu outbreak.

Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan has already banned the importation of birds from Britain for shows in the country and the National Disease Control Centre is assessing the threat to Ireland on a daily basis.

The Oireachtas Agriculture Committee will today discuss the latest information on the virus, which was confirmed on the Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk on February 3.

British government vets later gassed 159,000 infected birds in a massive cull.

Labour TD on the Leinster House Committee Mary Upton said she will call on the all-party body to push for greater traceability of all poultry products on Irish supermarket shelves.

“If foreign poultry is processed by adding breadcrumbs, batter or garlic butter for instance, it can then be re-labelled as Irish produce.

“This practice must be stopped to give the consumer more protection,” the TD said.