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Turkey moved from UK 'was safe' Turkey moved from UK 'was safe'
(about 1 hour 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 are 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 said Bernard Matthews exported turkey meat last week to the country, where the UK outbreak may have begun.
Environment Secretary David Miliband is due to hold talks with food officials. Environment Secretary David Miliband is to hold talks with senior officials, vets and public health experts later.
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. They are to discuss the action taken against the disease so far and find out how the investigation is progressing.
Meanwhile, European Union officials said they were expecting results by Tuesday of tests into whether the strain of H5N1 bird flu found in Britain was directly linked to the one in Hungary.
"However, the results cannot determine how the strain of bird flu actually arrived in the UK," an official said.
Bird flu was originally confirmed on the Bernard Matthews plant in Holton, Suffolk, on 3 February, and 159,000 turkeys were culled.
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 continued to operate.
The firm announced on 8 February that it had voluntarily suspended all movements of its poultry products between the UK and a plant it owns in Hungary.
Outbreak: Key locationsOutbreak: 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.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said there was no risk of meat from the unit being infected.The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said there was no risk of meat 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 investigated6 Feb: Cull of 159,000 turkeys completed at the farm8 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 salesTIMELINE 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 investigated6 Feb: Cull of 159,000 turkeys completed at the farm8 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.
"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."
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 said."I can say that from the protection zone, from the UK, six trucks arrived from there last week, to Hungary," he said.
'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 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".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 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.
Environment Secretary David Miliband is to meet senior officials and veterinary representatives of health protection agencies later on Monday.
They are to discuss how the disease has been contained so far and find out how an investigation into the causes of the outbreak is progressing.
'No regulations breach''No regulations breach'
The Health Protection Agency said three workers at the Bernard Matthews plant have been tested for bird flu and found negative.
A vet was tested and found negative last week after reporting flu-like symptoms.
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.
A spokesman said: "Bernard Matthews can confirm that it imports meat from Hungary and exports it to Hungary as well.A spokesman said: "Bernard Matthews can confirm that it imports meat from Hungary and exports it to Hungary as well.
"All these imports and exports are regulated and Bernard Matthews adheres strictly to all the regulations.""All these imports and exports are regulated and Bernard Matthews adheres strictly to all the regulations."
The Food Standards Agency is investigating 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.
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