Originally published February 15 2006
National Chicken Council creates bird flu testing program to protect consumers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
According to the National Chicken Council, most U.S. chicken producers have agreed to participate in a testing program that will test bird flocks for avian flu before they are slaughtered.
Seeking to reassure people that chicken is safe to eat, companies that raise chickens said Thursday they will test every flock for bird flu before the birds are slaughtered.
Companies that account for more than 90 percent of the nearly 10 billion chickens produced in 2005 in the U.S. have signed up for the testing program and said it expects more to follow, according to the National Chicken Council, a trade group that represents producers.
"We just want to assure people of the safety of the food supply," council spokesman Richard Lobb said.
Chicken prices at the grocery store have dropped in recent months, mostly because production is up and exports are down, said David Harvey, a poultry analyst for the department's Economic Research Service.
Tyson Foods Inc. has more than one-quarter of the market, followed by Pilgrim's Pride Corp., Gold Kist Inc. and Perdue Farms Inc.
Companies will cover the costs; the council said it does not have cost estimates.
Georgia-based Fieldale Farms will spend "couple hundred thousand dollars a year," on testing, executive vice president Tom Hensley said.
"It's a big number to a little chicken company in Georgia, but it's worth every cent," Hensley said.
He heads the department's National Poultry Improvement Plan, which focuses on disease prevention.
"For the industry to step up like this and start the testing program is a very important improvement," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The virulent form of bird flu in Asia has not been found in the U.S. and is only now spreading into Eastern Europe.
In bird flu outbreaks among poultry, anywhere from 90 percent to 100 percent of the birds can die from infection.
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