No danger to consumers of Polish poultry meat says dep min

Consumers are safe eating poultry meat, a deputy agriculture minister has said, refuting media reports alleging the presence of a bird flu virus in samples of Polish poultry.

Krzysztof Cieciora was responding to a Tuesday story published in the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper which claimed that scientists in Gdansk and Krakow had detected the H5N1 bird-flu virus in poultry meat. The article stated that the infected poultry meat was believed to be the source of a number of cat deaths in recent weeks, as all the cats that died had been given the meat raw.

"We are the largest poultry producer in Europe," Cieciora said during a Wednesday press conference. "We export poultry worldwide with great success. Polish poultry processing plants are the most modern in Europe."

He added that 20 percent of all poultry in Europe comes from the Polish sector.

"This sector, when it comes to the volume of exports, already exceeds PLN 3.2 billion (EUR 720 million)," he said.

According to Cieciora, "we are not in any danger. The information about the bird flu virus in poultry meat is untrue, no research confirms it."

"The media reports are misleading," he added.

Cieciora assured the public that "we will fight for the good name of our farmers, who make every effort to ensure that the quality of this food is at the highest level."