January 28, 2004

 

 

Japan Unlikely To Lift Thai Chicken Ban

 

Japan has declared that its ban on Thai chicken will remain unless Thailand can show scientific proof that it is safe to consume, a Japanese trade official said Tuesday.

 

"Thailand must find scientific proof to show that their cooked chickens are safe," said Yoshio Okawara, chairman of Japan's Market Access Ombudsman Council, Office of Trade and Investment Ombudsman, or OTO.

 

"We can't say when we will resume importing Thai chicken," Okawara said after a meeting with Thai Commerce Minister Watana Muangsook.

 

Okawara said Japan is mindful of the European Union's decision to admit cooked chicken products from Thailand.

 

The Thai health ministry has said the H5N1 virus infecting chickens can be destroyed by heat generated in the process of cooking.

 

Japan said Thursday that it would ban both frozen and cooked chicken products from Thailand.

 

"We are seeking measures to assure that our products are safe," Watana said, adding Thai chickens for export are from areas free from the virus.

 

So far, the disease has spread to chicken farms in 13 provinces out the country's 76 and has even jumped to humans, killing two children.

 

Chicken exporters said Monday that they believed the outbreak will be contained within three months. If it drags longer than three months, there might be layoffs in the industry.

 

The European Union Monday criticized the Thai government for not being transparent in its handling of the outbreak, and said it would demand independent verification that bird flu had been eradicated in the country before it lifts the ban on imports of Thai frozen chickens imposed last week.

 

Critics charge that the government covered up knowledge of the disease to protect the country's lucrative poultry export industry. After days of denials the government finally admitted Friday that it was battling with a bird-flu outbreak that has affected much of the region.