It's safe to eat chicken, poultry products - DA

The Department of Agriculture announced that it is still safe to eat chicken and other poultry products and that the country is free from the bird flu virus.

This announcement made by veterinary quarantine officer Pablo Balite came after the 180 blood samples collected from birds at the South Reclamation Project and Olango island last November 4 and submitted to the Bureau of Animal Industry for tests yielded negative of the fatal H5N1 viral strain.

"It is safe to eat meat. People will not have to worry of eating chicken because the country is safe from the virus," Balite said.

He pointed out that they are constantly monitoring the status of the poultry in the region and will get another set of blood samples next week in the same places where there are sightings of migratory birds to prevent a bird flu outbreak.

Balite added that the Bureau of Quarantine adopts stricter measures on the importation of poultry products.

"All incoming birds from the neighboring Asian countries that don't have permits are burned," he said.

"We do not import poultry products from Asian countries; we import mostly from European countries," Balite told The FREEMAN.

The Bureau of Quarantine has posts in all seaports and airports in the country. It evaluates all the imported products in coordination with the Bureau of Customs and the National Meat Inspection Commission before the products are allowed entry here.

"The product would not be released without a clearance from us and the NMIC, the latter tasked to examine if the products are safe for consumption and do a rechecking of such several times," Balite further said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has created a task force to intensify and make more effective the government's watch on the bird flu virus that might be carried here by migratory birds.

DENR Secretary Michael Defensor issued Special Order 878 last October 28 creating "Task Force Wild Bird" that will be headed by Undersecretary Armando de Castro with Public Affairs Office chief Virgilio Vitug as head of operations.

Task Force Wild Bird will directly supervise the regional task forces that will be composed of the regional executive directors and senior wildlife experts of the DENR called regional technical directors for protected areas and wildlife zone management specialists.

Under the order, the task force will operate the DENR's nerve center that will keep a close watch on the country's 55 wetland areas and implement measures that will prevent local fowls and even humans from venturing into wading areas of migratory birds such as the Naujan Lake in Oriental Mindoro, Candaba Swamp in Pampanga and the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary here, to name a few.

Defensor has directed the task force to closely coordinate with the National Task Force Avian Flu headed by the DA.