Flu fear: No Turkey this Christmas

Tue, 01 Nov 2005

Supermarkets raised the prospect that Turkey could be off the menu this Christmas and they were looking at how to source extra supplies of beef and lamb in case customers no longer wanted turkey at Christmas because of fears about bird flu.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said, "Sales of poultry and eggs were still robust and consumer confidence remained high. Should people really go off turkey and not want it on Christmas Day, we are seeing what other meat people might want.

Professor Troop said, "The experience of Canada during the Sars outbreak of 2003 showed the potential impact. The cost to health services increased by 60 per cent during the outbreak in Ontario. That gives an indication of the kind of cost you might have from a pandemic."

Tesco reported a slight dip in chicken and egg sales, and Asda said sales of fresh chicken had dipped slightly earlier this week but were now picking up.

Waitrose said there had been no change to customer’s turkey orders. In another development a Michelin-starred restaurant said on Saturday that it was taking poultry and game birds off the menu.

Alexis Gauthier, chef at Rousillon in London, said, "Bird dishes were being withdrawn in order to be comfortable that everything on the menu was "free of danger."

But a spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency said, "The FSA does not see any need for a restaurant to stop serving poultry dishes."

Some butchers reported falling chicken sales but Peter Bradnock, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, said there was no downturn.

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