Bird flu fails to dent pub poultry sales

Pubs are keeping poultry on the menu despite the arrival of bid flu to the UK.

Tests last week confirmed that the H5N1 avian flu virus was present in a swan found dead in Fife, Scotland. A 2,500sq km wild-bird risk area, where birds have to be housed, has now been established around the location.

But a spokesman for the UK's largest foodservice company, Brakes, said that because chefs and consumers were well informed, no panic had set in.

"We have got robust contingency plans in place and all our customer-facing staff have all the tools to help answer any queries," he said. "But it's all been particularly quiet, probably because it has come as no surprise that this has happened; it is a swan and not poultry stock at the moment and people are well informed."

Brakes will continue to source a large percentage of their poultry from British farms, according to the spokesman, who said bird flu was not a food safety risk for UK consumers.

This was confirmed by Food Standards Agency chairman Deirdre Hutton, who said: "If you wish to eat poultry and eggs you should continue to do so, following the normal precautions of cooking thoroughly and by that we mean cooking until there are no red juices, or in the case of eggs, cooking until the white is hard."

Poultry category winner of the PubChef Awards 2006 and head chef of the Williams Arms in Braunton, Devon, Anthony Williams said: "The arrival of bird flu has not affected sales. We had a busy Sunday selling more than 500 meals. Although coq au vin took a bit of a dive, we sold a load of turkey and other chicken dishes. There will, of course, be some people who'll not eat poultry now but I think that consumers have got the message that as long as you cook the chicken properly there is no risk."

Defra said that poultry owners outside the bird-risk zone should maintain a high level of biosecurity to reduce the risk of disease.

Senior executive officer at the British Poultry Council Richard Griffiths said: "Poultry sales have been holding up and consumers have generally shown a robust confidence in poultry, which continues to be a popular choice."