"BirdFlu" news and stories

In an effort to combat bird flu China announced this week that it wants to eventually phase out live poultry markets.

The country's State Council seeks to ban new markets, according to Chinadaily.The Council is also calling for existing poultry markets to be moved from highly populated areas. It also called upon local governments to ensure that sanitation standards were being followed.

While live poultry markets are popular throughout Asia, they are widely recognized as having the potential to spread avian flu. According to the official Xinhua news agency, China has had to eliminate 47,000 birds during 10 outbreaks over the course of this year. Since the end of 2003, 21 people have caught the disease and 14 have died.

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The Food Standards Agency here in the UK has advised restaurants to halt serving dishes made from raw eggs and half-cooked poultry to eliminate any risk of catching bird flu. The public is advised only to serve meat where the juices run clear and eggs that have solid whites.

These rules, following the first confirmed bird flu outbreak in Scotland, rule out the making of fresh mayonnaise and mousses with raw eggs and the serving of poultry  such as duck pink in the middle. Mousses and mayonnaise sold in supermarkets are fine as they are made from pasteurized egg which is safe.

On eggs specifically, the Food Standards Agency warned: "People should not eat raw eggs or use raw eggs in dishes that will not be cooked." Runny yolks can be eaten apparently even though the World Health Organization, has stipulated that both egg whites and yolks should be solid.

 

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In the wake of the avian flu in Asia, people in places like Hong Kong and South Korea are beginning to pay more attention to health, including organic foods. The burgeoning economy is also allowing the average person to take an interest in high dollar items that may provide long term health benefits. However, organic foods still make up a tiny percentage of vegetables bought by consumers. Many people are still not informed about possible benefits from organic foods, and ironically, many believe that organic foods are less flavorful. But, once the consumers get more educated and prices come down a little, there will most likely be a huge organic market in Asia.