Bird flu farm resumes production
Press Association
Monday February 12, 2007 8:03 PM
The slaughterhouse at the centre of the bird flu outbreak in Suffolk has been given the go-ahead to resume work.
Environment Secretary David Miliband said the facility at Bernard Matthews's Holton site had been re-licensed after being disinfected.
Birds from outside the restricted zone will be transported in for slaughter under observation from the Meat Hygiene Service, officials added.
"Birds will enter into the protection zone from an area that is currently free of disease and are due to be slaughtered as soon as they arrive at the slaughterhouse," a spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.
"They will not come into contact with other birds or meat from the protection zone.
"There will be no risk to the public. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) advises that avian flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers."
Officials said the slaughterhouse had been inspected by the Meat Hygiene Service and the State Veterinary Service to ensure it met public health standards.
It would now be allowed to slaughter birds from outside the protection zone.
The development came as the European Commission said no link had been found between a bird flu outbreak in Hungary and the similar virus in Suffolk.
An EC spokesman said it remained possible the exact cause of the outbreak may never be known.
Press Association
Monday February 12, 2007 8:03 PM
The slaughterhouse at the centre of the bird flu outbreak in Suffolk has been given the go-ahead to resume work.
Environment Secretary David Miliband said the facility at Bernard Matthews's Holton site had been re-licensed after being disinfected.
Birds from outside the restricted zone will be transported in for slaughter under observation from the Meat Hygiene Service, officials added.
"Birds will enter into the protection zone from an area that is currently free of disease and are due to be slaughtered as soon as they arrive at the slaughterhouse," a spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.
"They will not come into contact with other birds or meat from the protection zone.
"There will be no risk to the public. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) advises that avian flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers."
Officials said the slaughterhouse had been inspected by the Meat Hygiene Service and the State Veterinary Service to ensure it met public health standards.
It would now be allowed to slaughter birds from outside the protection zone.
The development came as the European Commission said no link had been found between a bird flu outbreak in Hungary and the similar virus in Suffolk.
An EC spokesman said it remained possible the exact cause of the outbreak may never be known.