Chicken off Asian menus
The Sun, 23 Nov 2005

BEIJING/SHANGHAI: Xiao Si's family loves to eat chicken. But after many outbreaks of bird flu, she is beginning to doubt safety guarantees about poultry.

"I know if you cook it well it's supposed to be safe, but who knows?"

Across China, which has reported 17 outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus since mid-October and is the world's largest poultry producer, sales of chicken and duck are plummeting and chicken prices have dropped up to 90%, state media has said.

Supermarkets in Beijing have resorted to putting up signs saying their birds come only from approved slaughter houses, and fast-food chain KFC has posted notices advertising that its cooking practices are hygienic, though without mentioning bird flu.

The World Health Organization says eating poultry and eggs that have been properly cooked pose no threat as the H5N1 virus is sensitive to heat.

But in some parts of Asia, governments are taking no risks. Officials in Vietnam's capital Hanoi have been ordering the city's restaurant owners to sign papers pledging to sell only poultry that have been inspected. Vietnam has been hard hit by bird flu. More than 40 people have died from H5N1 since late 2003.

"We have stopped selling chicken and duck dishes, and even if we wanted to, there are no more chickens in the market to buy anyway," said a restaurant owner on Hanoi's Hang Ga Street, which means "Chicken Street".

Sales of poultry have also dropped in the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

Pork sales have risen in these countries as consumers turn to what they see are safer food alternatives.

But in other parts of Asia, consumers are feeling more sanguine.

In South Korea, there has not been much change in eating habits out of fear of bird flu, food industry executives say.

And in Indonesia, the people in general have not shied away from eating chicken, the staple meat in the country.

The only affordable alternative for most people would be fish.