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Wednesday, 26 October 2005 11:57

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EU to issue chicken and eggs warning

The European Food Safety Agency is to warn the public to avoid raw eggs and undercooked poultry as a measure to prevent the spread of bird flu.

The EFSA said it “cannot exclude” the possibility that the deadly virus can be transmitted through foods, despite British advisors ruling out the possibility.

An official said: "[Cooking] protects from salmonella and other diseases. Avian flu is an added danger, even though there is no epidemiological data to prove it can be transmitted through food."

EFSA deputy executive director Herman Koeter said: "We don't have any evidence that the virus can be transmitted through food. But we can't exclude it, either. If you don't eat raw eggs and always cook poultry thoroughly, there should be no problems."

Health experts believe the highly pathogenic H5 and H7 strains of the virus are destroyed by high temperatures and acidic ph levels.

However, the UK’s Food Standards Agency insists there is no risk of contracting the virus through food. A FSA statement said: "On the basis of current scientific evidence, our advice is that avian flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers.

"For people, the risk of catching the disease comes from being in close contact with live poultry that have the disease, and not through eating poultry".

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