Commercial farm birds are safe to eat

Star: PETALING JAYA: Chickens sold in the markets are safe to eat because they come from commercial farms and the birds are free of the avian flu virus, said the Federation of Livestock Farmers Association Malaysia.
“We hope consumers understand that most of the infected chickens are either free-range or backyard birds and not those reared in commercial farms,” said the group's broiler unit chairman Yap Kim Hwah yesterday.
He said some commercial farms had their poultry culled because they were within the 1km radius of the areas where the H5N1 virus was detected.
“So far no cases of the virus have been detected in commercial chicken farms.”
Yap said the veterinary services department had been conducting random checks on chicken farms nationwide since bird flu surfaced in the country two years ago.
In affected states like Perak and Penang, chicken sales have dropped by 10% to 30%, he added.
Yap said the association had appealed to the Government to tighten rules for importing pets and to stop issuing permits to import birds.