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Avian Influenza
12.30 pm
Hon. Members: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker: Order. The point of order comes later. I would ask hon. Members to leave the Chamber quietly.
Andrew George (St. Ives) (LD) (urgent question): Will the Minister make a statement on the outbreak of avian influenza in Thailand last week?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr. Ben Bradshaw): When avian influenza was confirmed in Thailand, the European Commission immediately suspended imports into the European Union from Thailand of fresh poultry meat and poultry products indefinitely. We have prepared a risk assessment—available on the Department's website—which concludes that the risk of the disease being transmitted to the UK poultry flock is low. But we must be on our guard, so we have taken the additional precaution of asking ports to be extra vigilant and to prohibit the importation of consignments that do not fully comply with the rules. Waste from commercial plants is already subject to strict controls, but we have reminded the Meat Hygiene Service and local authorities to exercise more vigilance over the disposal of animal by-products to mitigate further any risk. There is already heightened awareness across the industry and the state veterinary service, but I would urge the farming community and the poultry industry to be on their guard and to ensure that their biosecurity arrangements are tight.
The Food Standards Agency has advised that there is no risk of acquiring the avian influenza virus through eating chicken. There has never been a case of humans contracting avian influenza by eating meat. The deaths reported in south-east Asia are the result of close contact with infected birds. There have been no known cases of human-to-human transmission during the current outbreak. The action that we have taken so far is proportionate to the disease risk, but we are closely monitoring the situation in south-east Asia. The situation will be reviewed again next week and we will press the Commission to take any further action that we consider necessary.
Andrew George: I am grateful to the Minister for his statement. The Government have certainly acted quickly in response to the potential threat to the UK, and to the poultry industry in particular, from the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza that was reported in south-east Asia last week. As the Minister said, avian influenza is a highly contagious poultry disease that can be transmitted to humans through contact with poultry. The foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001 coincided with a human outbreak of "benefit of hindsight disease", but at least we now have the benefit of foresight, and I hope that robust measures will be put in place to protect the biosecurity of the country and of farmers—in this case, poultry farmers in particular—following the lessons learned from the foot and mouth outbreak.
Will the Minister confirm that EU Commissioner Byrne made a public statement on Monday last week to the effect that there was no outbreak of avian influenza
in Thailand, yet by Friday he had changed his opinion and acknowledged that there was an outbreak, which precipitated the EU ban? How confident is the Minister in the competence of the European Commission to monitor the progress of this disease? Although we have been assured that they involved a different strain of avian influenza from the one that we are now concerned about, will the Minister confirm that there were outbreaks of the disease in other EU countries, namely Holland and Italy, last year? What assessment has he made of that situation, and of the ability of other EU nations to establish adequate biosecurity arrangements to deal with the disease if it were to be brought into the EU?In view of the delay in Thailand's admitting that there had been an outbreak of avian influenza, what reassurance can the Minister give that imports, particularly of frozen poultry, into this country are safe? There is a ban on fresh poultry imports from Thailand, but is it wise to permit the import of heat-treated products? Will the Minister tell us whether there is any truth in the theory that wild migratory birds are carriers of the disease? If so, what implications would that have for such birds? We have been told that the import ban applies only to Thailand and not to any other south-east Asian country, on the basis that no other south-east Asian country exports to the UK. Will the Minister confirm that that is accurate and, if so, that it is adequate? What other measures does he think might be necessary?
What implications does this outbreak have for the Government's efforts to control illegal meat imports? In answer to a recent question, the Secretary of State told me that intelligence in respect of such imports into the UK—they are still coming in—was not all that it could be. If that is the case, is the Minister content that existing measures are sufficiently robust? Now that the ban has been implemented, will the Minister tell us how long it is likely to last, and at what point it will be reviewed?
Will the Minister acknowledge that this is a good opportunity to promote the benefits to consumers of purchasing high-quality British-produced foods? Poultry farmers have established excellent measures in this country, particularly under the farm assurance schemes—characterised by the little red tractor label—which confirm high-quality production, traceability, health, hygiene and biosecurity. Would it not make good sense for consumers in this country and elsewhere to be made fully aware that, when buying British produce, they are buying high-quality goods that have been produced to high livestock production standards?
Mr. Bradshaw: I thank the hon. Member for St. Ives (Andrew George) for his kind comments when he said that he was grateful for the way in which the Government had dealt with this matter very quickly. He cited some comments made by Commissioner Byrne. I suspect that they were related to when the Commissioner was first satisfied that the outbreak had been confirmed. There will always be a time lag between reports of the suspicion of an outbreak and their confirmation, but, yes, in answer to the hon. Gentleman's question, we do have confidence in Commissioner Byrne and in the work that the permanent veterinary councillor of the European Union does in Thailand. He is there all the time to monitor exactly the kind of risks that we are talking about.
The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that we had a serious outbreak of avian influenza last year in the European Union, centred in Holland. I would suggest that that outbreak posed a much greater risk to the United Kingdom than the outbreak currently taking place in south-east Asia. As the hon. Gentleman mentioned, the disease is spread by migratory birds. We are very close to the continent, and many birds from the continent move here, particularly at this time of year. He is right about that, and right to say that that outbreak was more serious.
I am satisfied that we reviewed our contingency plans following that outbreak in the Netherlands. As hon. Members will know, we reviewed our overall plans to cope with animal disease following the foot and mouth outbreak. Our contingency plans for an outbreak of avian flu are better than they have ever been. The most recent outbreak in this country—in 1992, on a single property—was dealt with very swiftly, and I am confident that we could do so again if necessary.
On heat treatment, we are advised by the Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for food safety, that it is perfectly safe to consume meat products, especially if they have been treated to 70°.
The hon. Gentleman asked about the danger posed by migratory birds from south-east Asia. My understanding is that this country does not receive birds that have migrated from south-east Asia, but I am happy to send him the map that I pored over this morning showing the migratory habits of birds in that part of the world, which shows that they do not come here.
The hon. Gentleman asked why the ban applies only to Thailand. That is because, as he said, Thailand is the only country in south-east Asia that is allowed to export chicken to this country, and we are not about to allow any other country to do so given the current circumstances.
On illegal imports, I would simply add to my comments about how we have tightened up our system since foot and mouth. I am confident that our monitoring of imports is better than it has ever been. The chicken products that are—or were—imported from Thailand come in big batches from big food manufacturers, not small-time importers, so they are subject to very rigorous controls.
The ban will be indefinite, as I said in my statement.
Finally, I join the hon. Gentleman in taking this opportunity to congratulate the excellent work of the British poultry industry. I urge consumers always to consume British products if they can, especially British poultry. Our poultry is produced to standards that are unmatched anywhere in the world. I always choose British chicken, and I would urge everybody else to do so.
Mr. Owen Paterson (North Shropshire) (Con): Yesterday, I tabled a number of written questions on the subject of avian flu. Will the Minister let me know when he intends to reply?
The House and the public will be pleased to hear that cooked chicken meat presents no risk to human health. Can the Minister confirm that cooked poultry meat and
canned poultry meat may still be imported from Thailand? If so, is there any way of limiting the relevant areas to those where flocks are free of avian flu?The Minister referred to other Asian countries. To date, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Cambodia have reported instances of avian flu. Has he discussed those outbreaks with the authorities in those countries? What measures has he taken to discuss the possibility of travellers from those countries bringing infections into this country?
The Minister mentioned last year's outbreak of avian flu in Holland. Although that was a different strain, many lessons could be learned, as he rightly says. In April 2003, an important conference was held at Garderen, which made specific recommendations, especially on vaccination. Have those been acted upon?
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