Issues > March/April 2006 (#113) > Bird Flu? What Chicken Eaters Can Do

Bird Flu? What Chicken Eaters Can Do

by Mindy Pennybacker

Share


Email This PageEmail This Page

Print This PagePrint This Page

RELATED

Who're You Calling Chicken?
by The Green Guide Staff

Bird Flu Facts

• The avian flu virus, H5N1, has not yet been found in birds in the U.S.

• Heat from cooking poultry and eggs will kill H5N1.

• For most American consumers, who buy their birds already killed and processed, avian flu doesn't pose a threat.

• Following safe food handling practices such as washing hands, utensils and surfaces in hot soapy water will get rid of food pathogens from flu viruses to salmonella and E. Coli.

• Smaller family farms may be more tuned into their birds' health and behavior, and thus quicker to detect outbreaks, than huge factory farms.

page 3 of 3 | PREV 1 | 2 | 3 

Photo: Bird Flu? What Chicken Eaters Can Do

"Now, this factory-farmed virus is flying around the world," Greger says. But, he says, it's important to remember that the Asian strain of H5N1 has not yet entered this country, and there's no reason to bring poultry indoors. Besides, he adds, "We can't keep a virus out of chicken sheds. Even if farmers practiced perfect bio-security, rodents, flies, and little birds like starlings can carry it in. And once inside, it rapidly spreads."

The bottom line: Until bird flu is found in the U.S., and the government imposes emergency standards that all producers must follow, consumers can continue their good buying and eating habits, including the purchase, safe preparation and eating of organic and certified humane, free-range poultry and eggs.

For more information on avian flu, see the Fact Sheet on Avian Flu at www.usda.gov. For general safe cooking and handling, call USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline, 888-674-6854.

For more info and certified brands, see the Poultry Product Report at www.thegreenguide.com and the Smart Shopper's Poultry Picks wallet card, www.thegreenguide.com.

PREV 1 | 2 | 3 

Filed under: Mad Cow, mercury in fish, food safe

For Your Health | posted March 21, 2006