CHINA / Background
Eating smartly reduces risk of contracting bird flu
By Zhang Feng (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-09 06:05
Chicken and other poultry carry no risk of passing on bird flu to people
if cooked properly, according to a recent joint statement by world health
leaders.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World
Health Organization (WHO) offered the advice to national food safety
authorities amid growing concern over the avian influenza outbreak.
It warned birds from flocks carrying with the disease should not be
allowed to enter the food chain.
Bird flu has infected millions of poultry in the world this year and at
least 133 people, including 69 deaths.
In areas without outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry, there is no
risk that consumers could be exposed to the virus via the handling or
consumption of poultry or related products, the statement said.
In areas where poultry has been infected, consumers are being advised to
cook meat such as chicken, duck, goose, turkey and guinea-fowl at or
above 70 C.
Health leaders said the higher temperatures would kill any traces of the
H5N1 virus and make the meat safe to eat.
To date, there is no evidence that people have become infected after
eating contaminated poultry meat that has been properly cooked.
Infection channels
From the information currently available, a large number of confirmed
human cases of bird flu came during the home slaughtering and subsequent
handling of diseased or dead birds prior to cooking.
FAO and WHO emphasized that slaughtering infected birds poses the
greatest risk of the virus being passed on to humans.
Most strains of avian influenza are mainly found in the respiratory and
gastrointestinal tracts of infected birds, and not in the meat itself.
However, highly pathogenic viruses, such as the H5N1 strain, spread to
virtually all parts of an infected bird.
Infected poultry also excrete the virus in their faeces.
Exposure to humans, such as slaughterers, might also occur when the virus
is inhaled through dust and contact with surfaces contaminated with the
virus.
People are being warned that in areas where birds are often sold alive,
the practices of home slaughtering, defeathering, and eviscerating can
increase the exposure to potentially contaminated parts of the poultry.
It is not always possible to differentiate infected and non-infected
birds in areas that have outbreaks.
Some, such as domestic ducks, may harbour the virus without displaying
symptoms.
People are being urged to be fully informed about preventive measures,
including the use of protective equipment.
Good hygienic practices
The FAO and WHO are urging the practice of slaughtering and eating
infected birds in households, whether diseased or already dead, to be
stopped.
The birds should also not be used for animal feed.
Even in areas or countries suffering outbreaks, the likelihood of
infected poultry entering an industrialized slaughtering and processing
chain, and eventually being marketed and handled by consumers or
restaurant workers, is considered to be very low, FAO and WHO said.
They added that good hygienic practices, such as high cooking
temperatures, will further contribute to the safety of cooked poultry
meat.
Proper vaccination of domestic poultry is considered to be a useful tool
by health leaders as part of an overall integrated strategy for the
control of highly pathogenic avian influenza strains.
But it must be implemented in accordance with existing standards and
procedures for vaccination, they added,
With appropriate monitoring programmes in place, vaccinated poultry can
enter the food chain without particular risk for the consumer.
Highly pathogenic strains of the avian influenza virus can also be found
inside and on the surface of eggs laid by infected birds.
Although sick birds will normally stop producing eggs, eggs laid in the
early phase of the disease could contain viruses in the egg-white and
yolk as well as on the surface of the shell.
Proper cooking, however, inactivates the virus present inside the eggs.
Pasteurization used by industry for liquid egg products is also effective
in inactivating it.
But eggs from areas with outbreaks in poultry should not be consumed raw
or only partially cooked, such as with runny yolk, FAO and WHO said.
However, as with meat, there is no evidence to date to suggest that
people have been infected with bird flu by eating eggs or egg products if
cooked properly.
Recommended practices
Recommended good hygienic practices that have been issued to reduce
exposure to the virus in areas with outbreaks in poultry are:
No birds from flocks with disease should enter the food chain.
Do not eat raw poultry parts, including raw blood, or raw eggs in or from
areas with outbreaks in poultry.
Separate raw meat from cooked or ready-to-eat foods to avoid
contamination.
Do not use the same chopping board or knife.
Do not handle both raw and cooked foods without washing your hands in
between and do not place cooked meat back on the same plate or surface it
was on prior to cooking.
Do not use raw or soft-boiled eggs in food preparations that will not be
heat treated or cooked.
Wash your hands and keep them clean. After handling frozen or thawed raw
poultry or eggs, wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
Wash and disinfect all surfaces and utensils that have been in contact
with the raw meat.
Cook thoroughly: Thorough cooking of poultry meat will inactivate the
virus.
Either ensure that the poultry meat reaches 70 C at the centre of the
product ("piping" hot) or that the meat is not pink in any part.
Egg yolks should not liquid.
(China Daily 12/09/2005 page5)
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