14.mar.07
Bloomberg.com
John Lauerman
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=a242F8w0MpvA&refer=healthcare
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will, according to this story, study the potential for bird flu to contaminate prepared foods, including fish, animal feed and poultry.
The story says that the agency will compile a list of foods and dietary supplements at risk of contamination with avian influenza because they contain meat from poultry, come from animals that live near birds or might have been in contact with infected humans, according to a document posted today on the FDA Web site.
Proper cooking of chicken and other poultry kills H5N1, the deadly bird virus that has spread to some people, said the agency, based in Rockville, Maryland. Scientists say the virus might set off a deadly pandemic among humans. ``Ready-to-eat'' foods that require little or no cooking might be contaminated with virus by workers who have bird flu, exposing people who consume the foods.
Boris Lushniak, the FDA assistant commissioner who wrote the plan, was quoted as saying in a telephone interview today, "We know the effect that avian influenza has had on the public perception of food in Europe where there have been outbreaks. We want food and feed safety issues to be answered, in case we were to have avian influenza in this country."
The FDA will estimate the ``likely level and frequency of contamination of ready-to-eat foods by infectious respiratory droplets from human cases of pandemic influenza,'' the agency said in its planning document.