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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Bird flu farm resumes production | Bird flu farm resumes production |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Bernard Matthews is to resume slaughtering and processing turkeys at the Suffolk farm where bird flu was found earlier this month. | Bernard Matthews is to resume slaughtering and processing turkeys at the Suffolk farm where bird flu was found earlier this month. |
| Live birds will be brought in under a special licence allowing them to cross into the exclusion zone. | Live birds will be brought in under a special licence allowing them to cross into the exclusion zone. |
| Bird flu was confirmed at the plant in Holton on 3 February, and 159,000 turkeys were culled. | Bird flu was confirmed at the plant in Holton on 3 February, and 159,000 turkeys were culled. |
| Environment Secretary David Miliband said he had been "guided by science" in allowing production to resume. | Environment Secretary David Miliband said he had been "guided by science" in allowing production to resume. |
| Outbreak: Key locations | Outbreak: Key locations |
| The slaughterhouse had been re-licensed by the Meat Hygiene Service after cleansing and disinfection at the site, he said. | |
| Mr Miliband said the Food Standards Agency had investigated all aspects of the slaughterhouse and found them "of an appropriate standard". | |
| TIMELINE 1 Feb: Vets called to Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk after turkeys die3 Feb: Vets confirm H5N1 strain and turkey cull is begun5 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 sales12 Feb: Slaughter and processing of turkeys to be resumed at plant, it is announced | |
| "Discussions are continuing with Bernard Matthews about bio-security on their site," he added. | |
| The turkeys will be brought in to the factory from 0900 GMT on Tuesday, from the 50 farms Bernard Matthews operates around the UK. | The turkeys will be brought in to the factory from 0900 GMT on Tuesday, from the 50 farms Bernard Matthews operates around the UK. |
| They will then be slaughtered, processed and sent out. | They will then be slaughtered, processed and sent out. |
| Dame Deirdre Hutton of the Food Standards Agency said investigations so far had not found anything that raised the risk to public health. | |
| "It is still a possibility that infected poultry has entered the food chain but the risk to public health remains low," she said. | |
| Officials are still trying to work out where the H5N1 virus found in the farm came from. | Officials are still trying to work out where the H5N1 virus found in the farm came from. |
| They have been investigating whether it could have come from a wild bird or from infected poultry from Hungary. | They have been investigating whether it could have come from a wild bird or from infected poultry from Hungary. |
| The H5N1 strain was found on a Hungarian geese farm in January, and UK officials said later that the Suffolk strain "may well be identical". | The H5N1 strain was found on a Hungarian geese farm in January, and UK officials said later that the Suffolk strain "may well be identical". |
| Bernard Matthews has a processing plant in Sarvar in Hungary, about 160 miles away from the geese farm. | |
| Virus origins? | |
| European Union officials said they were expecting results by Tuesday of tests into whether the two strains were directly linked. | European Union officials said they were expecting results by Tuesday of tests into whether the two strains were directly linked. |
| "However, the results cannot determine how the strain of bird flu actually arrived in the UK," an official said. | "However, the results cannot determine how the strain of bird flu actually arrived in the UK," an official said. |
| Meanwhile a meeting at the European Commission headquarters has heard that that records going back to November show no turkeys from the affected Szentes region were transported to the Matthews plant in Sarvar. | |
| The Hungarians were updating EU officials and UK governmentrepresentatives. | |
| 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 |