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| Farmers urge meat import controls | Farmers urge meat import controls |
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| Pressure is mounting for the government to place tighter controls on imports of foreign turkey meat, following the outbreak of bird flu in Suffolk. | Pressure is mounting for the government to place tighter controls on imports of foreign turkey meat, following the outbreak of bird flu in Suffolk. |
| The National Farmers Union wants the environment department to "examine very carefully" introducing restrictions. | The National Farmers Union wants the environment department to "examine very carefully" introducing restrictions. |
| Officials believe products from Hungary may have caused the outbreak and are investigating whether food in supermarkets could be infected. | Officials believe products from Hungary may have caused the outbreak and are investigating whether food in supermarkets could be infected. |
| The government's chief scientist warned that meat may have to be recalled. | The government's chief scientist warned that meat may have to be recalled. |
| We have made all our checks and they have come from nowhere near the restricted region Bart Dalla Mura, Bernard Matthews In quotes: Hungary link Key locations | We have made all our checks and they have come from nowhere near the restricted region Bart Dalla Mura, Bernard Matthews In quotes: Hungary link Key locations |
| The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it would not rule out a recall, but moved to reassure consumers that infected turkey would pose no risk to human health if the meat was properly cooked. | The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it would not rule out a recall, but moved to reassure consumers that infected turkey would pose no risk to human health if the meat was properly cooked. |
| Richard MacDonald, of the NFU, said the outbreak at the Bernard Matthews plant in Holton "posed questions about import controls". | Richard MacDonald, of the NFU, said the outbreak at the Bernard Matthews plant in Holton "posed questions about import controls". |
| He said he had asked the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs "to examine very carefully what they do in terms of import controls and whether or not we should be continuing with this sort of practice". | He said he had asked the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs "to examine very carefully what they do in terms of import controls and whether or not we should be continuing with this sort of practice". |
| The European Union governs trade between its members but there are no restrictions on exports from Hungary. | |
| A spokesman for the European Commission said "there is no immediate threat to Hungarian poultry or poultry exports" but non-EU members Croatia, Serbia and Russia have banned all poultry imports from Hungary. | |
| Bernard Matthews owns the plant in Holton where the disease broke out, and also a site in Hungary. | Bernard Matthews owns the plant in Holton where the disease broke out, and also a site in Hungary. |
| The Eastern European country had its own bird flu outbreak on a goose farm last month. | The Eastern European country had its own bird flu outbreak on a goose farm last month. |
| Questions are now being asked of Bernard Matthews' conduct, after it emerged that the firm had been shipping partly processed meat from Hungary into the UK. | Questions are now being asked of Bernard Matthews' conduct, after it emerged that the firm had been shipping partly processed meat from Hungary into the UK. |
| FSA COOKING ADVICE After cooking a whole bird, pierce the thickest part of the leg with a clean knife or skewer. The juices should run clearThe juices should not have any pink or red in them and there should be no pink meatPeople are advised not to eat raw eggs or use raw eggs in dishes that will not be cookedEggs should be cooked until the whites are solid | FSA COOKING ADVICE After cooking a whole bird, pierce the thickest part of the leg with a clean knife or skewer. The juices should run clearThe juices should not have any pink or red in them and there should be no pink meatPeople are advised not to eat raw eggs or use raw eggs in dishes that will not be cookedEggs should be cooked until the whites are solid |
| Environment Minister Ben Bradshaw said the government was looking into whether there had been "biosecurity breaches" at the Holton plant. | Environment Minister Ben Bradshaw said the government was looking into whether there had been "biosecurity breaches" at the Holton plant. |
| Bernard Matthews denies any wrongdoing, but has stopped the importation of meat from Hungary while officials investigate the cause of the outbreak. | Bernard Matthews denies any wrongdoing, but has stopped the importation of meat from Hungary while officials investigate the cause of the outbreak. |
| Bart Dalla Mura, commercial director of Bernard Matthews, said the firm had not brought any poultry or meat products from inside the infected region of Hungary into the UK. | Bart Dalla Mura, commercial director of Bernard Matthews, said the firm had not brought any poultry or meat products from inside the infected region of Hungary into the UK. |
| "We have made all our checks and they have come from nowhere near the restricted region. That is what our paperwork says to us," he said. | "We have made all our checks and they have come from nowhere near the restricted region. That is what our paperwork says to us," he said. |
| Earlier this week, a cull of almost 160,000 turkeys at the Bernard Matthews plant was completed, after the discovery of the H5N1 virus. | Earlier this week, a cull of almost 160,000 turkeys at the Bernard Matthews plant was completed, after the discovery of the H5N1 virus. |
| The H5N1 virus does not pose a large-scale threat to humans, as it cannot pass easily from one person to another. | The H5N1 virus does not pose a large-scale threat to humans, as it cannot pass easily from one person to another. |
| But experts fear the virus could mutate at some point in the future and trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk. | But experts fear the virus could mutate at some point in the future and trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk. |
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