AR-News: (JP) Flu-hit farm sold meat, eggs in 16 prefectures

[A. Sachiko]

Flu-hit farm sold meat, eggs in 16 prefectures 
The Asahi Shimbun 
http://www.asahi.com/english/nation/TKY200403030134.html
 
Lawmakers, stunned by the revelation, scramble to prepare for a 4th outbreak. 

Officials, aghast at reports that chicken meat and eggs from a farm inflected 
with avian flu had been shipped to at least 16 prefectures, were working 
feverishly Tuesday to contain any possible fallout. 

There were no immediate fears that humans could be infected. 

But the sheer volume of chickens and eggs shipped to markets by Asada Nosan 
Funai Nojo from its farm in Kyoto Prefecture left central and local government 
officials grappling to comprehend the extent to which possibly infected poultry 
products had been distributed across Japan. 

On Monday, prefectural officials in Kanagawa, Niigata, Mie and Kagawa reported 
that poultry products from the farm in question were being offered for sale in 
their jurisdictions. 

A food processing company in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, acquired about 5,570 
kilograms of eggs from Asada Nosan on Feb. 20 and 23. Of that amount, about 
1,700 kilograms, the equivalent of 22,000 eggs, were boiled and shipped to 16 
food processing companies in 12 prefectures for use in box lunches sold by 
convenience stores and other outlets. 

The remaining 3,800 kilograms of eggs had been kept in refrigeration but were 
all returned to Asada Nosan on Monday. The Atsugi food processing company has 
not purchased eggs from Asada Nosan since Feb. 24. 

An executive with the Atsugi company expressed anger at Asada Nosan for not 
informing buyers that its products could be infected. 

``They shipped the products that had problems without informing us 
beforehand,'' the executive said. ``We are mortified because the transactions 
were based on trust.'' 

The executive said the eggs had been boiled at 99 degrees or higher for 18 
minutes. Health authorities have said that heating chicken and eggs at 75 
degrees for at least a minute kills the flu virus. 

A meat wholesaler in Kobe acquired about 30 kilograms of Asada Nosan chicken 
meat from a distributor in Hyogo Prefecture. The processed meat was sold to 
three or four restaurants in Kobe as well as to general consumers. 

A poultry processing company in Niigata Prefecture acquired about 1,180 
kilograms of chicken meat originating at Asada Nosan through a distributor in 
Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. The meat was to have been used as pet food, but 
since the Niigata company had kept the meat sealed in frozen storage, it was 
returned to the Toyohashi distributor. 

About 15 tons of chicken bones and feathers from the Toyohashi company were 
shipped to a disposal company in Mie Prefecture. 

Inspection of a feed and fertilizer company in Kagawa Prefecture found that 
chicken feathers from birds shipped from Asada Nosan tested positive for the 
avian flu virus. 

Feed and fertilizer manufactured from the materials obtained via a Hyogo 
Prefecture slaughterhouse from Asada Nosan had not yet been shipped out. Since 
the produce had been treated at high temperatures, Kagawa prefectural officials 
said the virus would not be passed on to other birds or humans. 

Politicians meantime were trying to come to terms with the possibility that 
avian flu will spread dramatically from the three known cases so far. 

Shinzo Abe, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said a task 
force would be set up within the party to deal with a problem that straddles 
the jurisdictional boundaries of several ministries. 

Government and LDP officials meeting Monday were critical of Asada Nosan and 
local governments for being slow to grasp the extent of the problem and their 
lack of measures to stop the distribution of poultry products from the suspect 
farm to consumers. 

There were also calls for measures to compensate poultry farmers who may be 
affected. 

Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) head Naoto Kan, a former health minister, 
said he would lead his party's task force to deal with the problem. 

He criticized the lack of coordination among central government ministries. 

``The agriculture ministry, the health ministry and various research institutes 
are dealing with the problem separately,'' Kan said. ``I am worried that they 
are unable to bring together information under one body and implement the 
necessary steps.'' 

Mamoru Ishihara, vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, 
apologized Monday for not being aware of the situation at Asada 
Nosan.(IHT/Asahi: March 3,2004) (03/03)