EU: Cooked poultry, eggs no risk

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union’s executive said on
Wednesday consumers face no risk from eating poultry or eggs
after demand for the products across the 25-nation bloc
plummeted over fears that bird flu could spread through food.

The deadly H5N1 virus first surfaced in Asia but is being
spread to the west by migrating birds.

“Veterinary controls on the farm and at slaughter, and the
flow of information from stable to table, protect EU consumers
against any potential risk,” said European Commission spokesman
Philip Tod.

“These import measures … ensure that poultry products on
sale in the EU do not pose a risk for consumers,” Tod told a
briefing, saying poultry imports were banned from areas where
high pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in poultry.

The EU produces 11 million tonnes of poultry meat a year
and exports 1 million tonnes. Exports were worth 1 billion
euros ($1.2 billion) in 2004. The sector employs more than
500,000 people.

Tod’s comments came a day after an official at the European
Union’s food safety agency was quoted as saying he could not
rule out that the virus could spread through food.

In an update to its recommendations, the European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) played down comments by its science
director Herman Koeter, saying there was no evidence to suggest
that bird flu can be transmitted through poultry or eggs.

But EFSA said in a statement that consumers were still
advised to cook eggs and poultry thoroughly.

“While it is unlikely that H5N1 could be passed on to
humans by raw meat or eggs, cooking food properly would
inactivate the virus and eliminate this potential risk,” it
said.

Last week a farm union in Italy reported a 30 percent fall
in demand and the French government has sought to reassure
consumers that poultry meat was safe as sales fell.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu dangerous to humans has been
detected in several European countries but not in commercial
poultry within the European Union.

Tod said he had no data on the fall in sales but
acknowledged it was a source of concern to EU ministers.

“Of course we have seen … falls in the consumption of
poultry products in the EU,” he said. “This concern is shared
by the Commission.”

He said controls meant there was no risk of contracting
avian flu even from eating raw eggs although there was a risk
of other illness, such as food poisoning.

“We wouldn’t advise everybody to eat raw eggs. We don’t
think there’s a risk of avian flu from the consumption of eggs
whether raw or cooked,” he said.