March 16, 2006

 

Sri Lanka rolls out campaign to boost poultry consumption

 

 

Sri Lanka's ministers for health, science, media and livestock all took part in the lunchtime event to highlight the safety of eating chicken in Sri Lanka, which has reported no infections of the deadly H5N1 virus in birds or humans.

 

Bird flu fears have, however, sent poultry sales plummeting by around 20 percent in the South Asian country.

 

"No one should fear eating poultry products as it is absolutely safe to consume Sri Lankan-produced chicken and eggs," said the minister in charge of livestock development, Chandrasiri Ratnayake, while surrounded by traditional dishes such spicy deviled chicken and chicken curry cooked in coconut sauce.

 

Chicken sales in Sri Lanka have dropped by around 20 percent since February when neighbouring India reported an outbreak of bird flu in chicken farms, forcing hundreds of thousands of birds to be slaughtered.

 

Around one million Sri Lankans depend on the poultry industry, which accounts for about 70 percent of the island's livestock sector.

 

The campaign to persuade reluctant consumers to eat chicken will include radio and TV advertisements.

 

The World Health Organization has said there is no risk of contracting bird flu from eating well-cooked chicken.

 

"Normally, Sri Lankans cook the food to boiling point. At this temperature there is no way that the H5N1 virus could survive," said S.K.R. Amarasekara, the chief of the Animal Production and Health Department.

 

Health experts say Sri Lanka is free from bird flu but officials maintain strict surveillance.