POULTRY sales in Suffolk are so far unaffected by the bird flu outbreak, according to supermarkets. Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco reported yesterday no change in sales of turkey, chicken or eggs over the weekend.

By Danielle Nuttall

POULTRY sales in Suffolk are so far unaffected by the bird flu outbreak, according to supermarkets.

Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco reported yesterday no change in sales of turkey, chicken or eggs over the weekend.

A spokesman for Asda said sales were exactly the same as they were this time last week.

“There has been no impact at all,” he said.

“Sales illustrate basically that there is consumer confidence in poultry in the UK sector.”

A spokeswoman for Sainsbury's also said there had been no dip in poultry sales, but said it was probably too early to confirm as consumers had only found out on Saturday.

“After the last two scares of bird flu we had in the UK we did not see much of a dip. Oddly, in some cases, we saw an increase in sales.

“M&S and Sainsbury do quite well because they are premium supermarkets. People feel that is the best place to buy their children and eggs from.

“Because this has happened before in the UK, consumers are quite savvy in that it's clearly not a food safety issue.

“People's understanding of this is much more advanced than it previously was. Consumers are quite wise about what's going on.”

She added: “The birds that were affected were 12 weeks into their life cycles. It would be another eight weeks before they were mature enough to kill. There is a significant time difference from the ones in the store.”

A spokeswoman from Tesco said: “We work very hard with our suppliers to ensure the highest standards of biosecurity are maintained at all times and we have contingency plans in place should our supply chain become affected,” she said.

“Customers should not worry - Tesco poultry and egg products are safe. The disease can in any event only be spread through direct contact with birds, and not through poultry products.”

Meanwhile, a Morrisons spokesperson said: “Morrisons would like to reassure customers that we are carefully monitoring the situation and are in regular contact with Bernard Matthews, who are liaising closely with DEFRA and following all relevant guidelines.

“It has been confirmed that none of the affected birds have entered the food chain and that the outbreak was contained to the farm.

“DEFRA have confirmed that there is no reason for public health concern. Avian Influenza is a disease of birds and whilst it can pass very rarely and with difficulty, to humans this requires extremely close contact with infected birds, particularly faeces.

“The Health Protection Agency has advised that, despite this incident, the current level of risk to humans from H5N1 remains extremely low.”

Meanwhile, poultry products were most definitely on the menu in Ipswich yesterday.

Shoppers outside Sainsbury's in Upper Brook Street were still happy to place turkey or chicken in their baskets.

Laoni Gaines, 18, from Ipswich, said: “I've just bought a chicken. It's (bird flu) being dealt with at the moment and I'm sure everything will be safe.”

Samuel Finden, from Ipswich, said he was also continuing to eat chicken.

“It's going to be expensive otherwise. It's £6 for a joint of lamb and £2 for chicken.

“I can see myself changing my mind it this continues (across the country).”

But Martin Westfall, 24, said he did not believe scientists really knew the extent of the danger to humans and would definitely not be eating poultry in the foreseeable future.

danielle.nuttall@eadt.co.uk