The UK Food Standards Agency investigation into Avian flu (bird flu) has said that it has gathered sufficient information to conclude that product held temporarily in the Bernard Matthews cold stores at Holton and Chesterfield does not contain meat from a restricted zone in Hungary, which would have made it illegal to enter the food chain.
As a result, the Agency last night informed Bernard Matthews that the meat products held voluntarily in their cold stores for the past 48 hours can now be released into the food chain.
This information forms part of the joint report by the Department of Food and Rural Affairs, Food Standards Agency and Health Protection Agency which is in the process of being finalised and will be published at the end of the week.
Bernard Matthews, the founder of Britain’s largest poultry firm, has today told consumers that his turkey products are safe to eat, despite the recent bird flu outbreak at one of his Suffolk farms.