European Food Safety Authority (EFSA): There is no evidence for Bird Flu infecting humans via food.

The discovery of the H5N1 Bird Flu at certain areas of continental Europe has been a cause of alarm for the public on the issue of the sanitary safety of poultry meat and eggs. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has declared that there is currently no evidence for bird flue infecting humans via poultry meat and eggs. EFSA has furthermore stated that, other than the already outlined sanitary measures for the proper preparation of poultry dishes, there is no need for any further precautions.

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a statement declaring that no evidence has been found on the possibility of the Bird Flu, an infectious disease particularly threatening to birds, passing on to humans via consuming poultry products. In addition, EFSA’s Scientific Commission for Biological Threats has been continuously monitoring developments related to the Bird Flu. EFSA also stands in agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) in their conclusion that the primary way that H5N1 Bird Flu infects humans is via close contact with live poultry, and not through consuming poultry meat and eggs. This, however, does not mean complete disregard for the latter possibility.

There has so far been no cases of infection, by the H5N1 virus, of poultry commercially grown within the European Union. As a preventative measure, EFSA repeats the warning that it has already issued covering the proper preparation of poultry meat and eggs for consumption to prevent cases of food poisoning caused by Salmonella and other organisms. While the probability of the virus infecting humans via raw poultry meat and eggs is taken to be extremely low, proper cooking of these products will effectively eliminate the risk of infection by completely neutralizing the virus.

Information covering the proper transportation, handling and cooking of poultry products can be received from your national food safety organizations as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) via the following url:
ttp://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/consumer/5keys/en/index.html
To access additional information provided by WHO on the Bird Flu and food safety, visit:
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/micro/avian/en/index.html

Statements by the European Commission for Disease Control (ECDC) on the Bird Flu from a public health perspective can be found at:
http://www.ecdc.eu.int/