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| Turkey moved from UK 'was safe' | Turkey moved from UK 'was safe' |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Cooked turkey products exported from the bird flu-infected Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk were safe, the government has said. | Cooked turkey products exported from the bird flu-infected Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk were safe, the government has said. |
| Officials said there was no risk of infection in cooked meat moved from the plant since the virus was detected. | Officials said there was no risk of infection in cooked meat moved from the plant since the virus was detected. |
| Hungary's chief vet has claimed Bernard Matthews exported turkey products last week to the country, where the UK outbreak may have originated. | Hungary's chief vet has claimed Bernard Matthews exported turkey products last week to the country, where the UK outbreak may have originated. |
| EU rules allow cooked poultry to be exported from an infected zone. | EU rules allow cooked poultry to be exported from an infected zone. |
| Bernard Matthews announced last Thursday that it had voluntarily suspended all movements of its poultry products between the UK and a plant it owns in Hungary. | Bernard Matthews announced last Thursday that it had voluntarily suspended all movements of its poultry products between the UK and a plant it owns in Hungary. |
| Outbreak: Key locations | Outbreak: Key locations |
| Its farm at Holton, where bird flu was detected, was shut down after the outbreak was first suspected - but a processing unit on the same site has continued to operate. | Its farm at Holton, where bird flu was detected, was shut down after the outbreak was first suspected - but a processing unit on the same site has continued to operate. |
| The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said there was no risk of products from the unit being infected. | The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said there was no risk of products from the unit being infected. |
| TIMELINE 1 Feb: Vets called to Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk after turkeys die3 Feb: Vets confirm H5N1 strain5 Feb: Environment minister says most likely cause is from wild bird, but other possibilities being investigated8 Feb: Government vet suggests turkey meat from Hungary may be to blame. Bernard Matthews denies link9 Feb: FSA examines whether infected meat may have entered food chain10 Feb: Supermarkets deny there has been a slump in poultry sales | TIMELINE 1 Feb: Vets called to Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk after turkeys die3 Feb: Vets confirm H5N1 strain5 Feb: Environment minister says most likely cause is from wild bird, but other possibilities being investigated8 Feb: Government vet suggests turkey meat from Hungary may be to blame. Bernard Matthews denies link9 Feb: FSA examines whether infected meat may have entered food chain10 Feb: Supermarkets deny there has been a slump in poultry sales |
| "The heating process quickly kills the virus and therefore this meat will be perfectly safe," a spokeswoman said. | "The heating process quickly kills the virus and therefore this meat will be perfectly safe," a spokeswoman said. |
| "Although the farm was closed down and the sheds tested as soon as the outbreak was confirmed, the processing plant continues to work as normal. | "Although the farm was closed down and the sheds tested as soon as the outbreak was confirmed, the processing plant continues to work as normal. |
| "Processed meat delivered from elsewhere in the country may have also left the site before Bernard Matthews stopped transporting last week. | "Processed meat delivered from elsewhere in the country may have also left the site before Bernard Matthews stopped transporting last week. |
| "But this will also be safe because it will not have been from within the infected zone. | "But this will also be safe because it will not have been from within the infected zone. |
| "It will not have come into contact with any area of contamination." | "It will not have come into contact with any area of contamination." |
| She said exporting cooked poultry from an exclusion zone was allowed under European rules. | She said exporting cooked poultry from an exclusion zone was allowed under European rules. |
| The comments came after chief vet Lajos Bognar told Channel 4 that meat had left the Holton plant and arrived at Bernard Matthews' Hungarian site on either Wednesday or Thursday. | The comments came after chief vet Lajos Bognar told Channel 4 that meat had left the Holton plant and arrived at Bernard Matthews' Hungarian site on either Wednesday or Thursday. |
| "I can say that from the protection zone, from the UK, six trucks arrived from there last week, to Hungary," he told Channel 4 news. | "I can say that from the protection zone, from the UK, six trucks arrived from there last week, to Hungary," he told Channel 4 news. |
| 'Confusing' | 'Confusing' |
| Opposition politicians and some scientists say the government and Bernard Matthews need to be much more open about exactly what is coming and going from the infected premises. | Opposition politicians and some scientists say the government and Bernard Matthews need to be much more open about exactly what is coming and going from the infected premises. |
| HAVE YOUR SAY The Government have chosen to put EU laws before the welfare of the people of this country. They have let people down. Anne, West Midlands class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=5429&edition=1">Send us your comments MEP Neil Parish, who chairs the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee in the European Parliament, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme moving lorries in and out of the plant was "ridiculous". | |
| Peter Ainsworth, the Conservative spokesman for rural affairs, told BBC Radio Five Live there had been "confusing advice" from government agencies since the bird flu outbreak. | Peter Ainsworth, the Conservative spokesman for rural affairs, told BBC Radio Five Live there had been "confusing advice" from government agencies since the bird flu outbreak. |
| Reports on Sunday said Bernard Matthews imported turkey from Hungary in the days after the outbreak, despite the government suspecting Hungary was the source of the disease. | Reports on Sunday said Bernard Matthews imported turkey from Hungary in the days after the outbreak, despite the government suspecting Hungary was the source of the disease. |
| Currently EU rules mean Hungary cannot export any poultry from a 10km zone around the bird flu-hit area - but anybody outside the zone can continue to trade. | Currently EU rules mean Hungary cannot export any poultry from a 10km zone around the bird flu-hit area - but anybody outside the zone can continue to trade. |
| Bernard Matthews insists it has done nothing wrong. | Bernard Matthews insists it has done nothing wrong. |
| The Food Standards Agency is continuing to investigate whether infected products are on shop shelves, and has said a recall is possible if evidence of contamination is found. | The Food Standards Agency is continuing to investigate whether infected products are on shop shelves, and has said a recall is possible if evidence of contamination is found. |
| The H5N1 virus, which causes bird flu, does not pose a large-scale threat to humans as it cannot pass easily from one person to another. | The H5N1 virus, which causes bird flu, 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 and trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk. | But experts fear the virus could mutate and trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk. |
| Return to top | Return to top |