“Indian cooking practices kills the bird flu virus”, poultry businessmen on Tuesday said to dispel fears about chicken and egg consumption following the recent Avian Flu outbreak on the city outskirts.
Members of National Egg Coordination Committee, Telangana State Poultry Federation (TSPF) and Poultry Breeders Association (Telangana) and Hyderabad Layer Farmers Association (HLFA) articulated trade concerns saying the outbreak has pinched business as people are apprehensive about eating chicken and egg.
They also tried to explain that the virus was not found in other farms and the culling operations taken up by Telangana government have helped checked the spread of the flu. “Indian cooking often involves temperatures higher than 70 degrees beyond which the virus is not known to survive. The flu has now been contained and it is safe to consume chicken and eggs,” said G. Ranjit Reddy, president of Telangana Poultry Breeders Association.
Industry representatives said that the price of chicken fell by around Rs. 7 though sales volumes did not drastically dip. The industry has stated losses to the tune of Rs. 30 crore due to the outbreak but it is also relieved at the same that the impact is not severe this time around. “In 2006 when an outbreak was reported, people had stopped buying chicken and eggs for a month. The industry had faced bigger losses then. The impact is smaller now comparatively. We expect prices to improve in two weeks,” said E. Pradeep Rao, president of Telangana State Poultry Federation.
The businessmen denied reports that the virus killed thousands of birds in nearby farms before culling began at the infected farm in Thorrur village of Hayatnagar mandal, and instead argued that farms in the vicinity did not witness any “unexplained mortality of birds”. They, however, admitted there is need for great vigilance and improvement in bio-security measures to lower risk of exposure for humans.
