July 13, 2006

 

US officials trying to find smuggled China poultry

 

 

Michigan and federal authorities are trying to track down a cache of frozen poultry smuggled into the US from areas in China where bird flu is prevalent, state officials said Tuesday (Jul 12), according to a story in the Detroit Free Press online.

 

The authorities said consumers probably have eaten some of the meat and should be concerned but not alarmed. Proper cooking destroys the deadly virus.

 

The Free Press reported that the frozen poultry, which included geese, ducks and chickens with intestines still intact, was purchased by the owner of a warehouse in Troy, Michigan, which supplies 300 Chinese restaurants and Asian grocery stories throughout south-east Michigan, according to state authorities. The authorities said the owner has disappeared and is facing possible criminal charges, the Free Press reported.

 

Federal officials, who could not be reached for comment, learned of the problem in early June and alerted state officials around Jun 22, Michigan Department of Agriculture officials said.

 

They said they did not know whether any carcasses were contaminated with the bird flu virus.

 

Federal officials apparently destroyed birds seized from the warehouse Jun 27 before the meat could be tested, prompting Michigan officials to complain.

 

On Jul 5 and 6, state and federal officials seized 1,600 pounds of meat from the warehouse. It too was destroyed without testing, prompting requests from some state officials that all future meat seizures be tested. It was unclear why agents made two seizures at the property.

 

Although the virus, which lives in the birds' intestines, can survive indefinitely in frozen poultry, it dies when meat is thoroughly cooked. Food preparation surfaces and utensils should be disinfected with soap or bleach and hands should be washed to prevent the spread of any virus.

 

"We are treating it seriously and looking to see where the material might have gone," said Brad Deacon, emergency management coordinator for the state Agriculture Department, as quoted in the Free Press story.