Railways withdraw ban on chicken

      New Delhi: Indian Railways have withdrawn the orders prohibiting serving of chickens and eggs in any form from railway static catering units or mobile catering units. It is now safe to consume properly cooked poultry meat and that conventional cooking at temperature seventy degrees Celsius in all food items, will inactivate H5N1 virus. Consumers are advised to follow the following guidelines issued by World Health Organization (WHO) while handling food items. The departmental staff and the staff of licensees of all static and mobile catering units besides Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have been instructed to follow these guidelines strictly and scrupulously. IRCTC has also been instructed to advise all its field units to follow these guidelines. The guidelines are: wash hands before handling food and often during food preparation, wash hand after going to the toilet, wash and sanitize all surfaces and equipment used for food preparation, protect kitchen areas and food from insects, pests and other animals, separate raw meat, poultry and sea food from other foods, use separate equipments and utensils such as knives and cutting boards for handling raw food, store food in containers to avoid contact between raw and prepared foods, cook food thoroughly, especially meat, poultry, eggs and seafood, bring food items like soups and stews to boiling point to make sure that they have reached seventy degrees Celsius. For meat and poultry, make sure that juices are clear, not pink. Ideally use a thermometer.

    Other guidelines are: reheat cooked food thoroughly, cooked food may not be left at room temperature for more than two hours, Refrigerate promptly all cooked and perishable food items (preferably below 50C), keep cooked food piping hot (more than 600C) prior to serving, not to store food too long even in the refrigerator, not to thaw frozen food at room temperature, use safe water or treat it to make it safe, select fresh and wholesome foods, choose foods processed for safety, such as pasteurized milk, wash fruits and vegetables, especially if eaten raw, not to use food beyond its expiry date. Besides, half boiled egg, fried eggs, omlette and roasted chickens should not be served. Staff handling chicken/egg items should be advised to use gloves, mask and goggles for personal protection.

Only Gujarat, Navapur samples tested positive for bid flu
by Ruchi Gupta

     New Delhi: Animal Husbandry Joint Secretary Upma Chowdhary here today said that so far only the samples from Navapur and Uchchhal have tested positive for Avian Influenza (H5N1), adding that all other samples tested at Bhopal laboratory have tested negative. Chowdhary said that during the last week 516 samples have been tested at the Bhopal laboratory. In total seven samples have tested positive for the avian influenza last week, one from Navapur and six from Uchchhal which was already under the 3-km surveillance radius of Navapur where bird flu was detected first, Chowdhary said.

      With the killing of 1,06,000 birds the culling operation has been completed in the extended zone in Gujarat. Chowdhary said that besides the completion of culling operation in the extended zone in Gujarat, an amount of Rs 28,57,000 has been paid as compensation for the poultry that has been destroyed which includes compensation of Rs 6,62,000 to backyard poultry and nearly Rs 22,00,000 compensation to the farmers. The compensation amount shared by the State and the Centre would be "paid to the farm covered in the extended zone by tomorrow", the Chowdhary added. 2,89,771 birds including backyard poultry have been killed in Maharashtra. "Nearly 13 lakh eggs and more than 101 metric tonnes of feed has been destroyed in Maharashtra while the operation of disposal of eggs and feed is continuing", she said. More than Rs 12 lakh has been paid as compensation to the owners of backyard poultry in Maharashtra, Chowdhary said. The capacity of the scientists in Bhopal has been increased and the scientists have been diverted from other research works towards the ongoing testing process in the laboratory. The samples from all over the country are being tested at the laboratory. Samples from Madhya Pradesh, Goa, West Bengal, Sikkim and Karnataka have also been flown in to the Bhopal laboratory but all have tested negative, Chowdhary said. Chowdhary has specifically made a request to the people who indulge in foul play and make hoax calls saying that a large number of birds have died in a particular area to restrain from it. She said that a lot of effort goes into investigating the authenticity of calls which can be utilised in controlling the situation. It is reported that the Government has allocated Rs 6 crore for strengthening the network to control avian influenza and three more laboratories in the country would be upgraded for the facilities for diagnosis of influenza in Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata.

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