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City to bail poultry producers out of gloom

SHANGHAI will advocate the consumption of chilled chickens to help revitalize the poultry industry devastated by the recent H7N9 bird flu outbreak, agricultural officials said today.
Local residents are encouraged to buy chilled chickens which taste better than frozen chickens and are safer than chickens slaughtered on the spot.
Chilled chickens have to pass strict quarantine inspection and they must be processed at temperatures between 0-4 degrees Celsius to kill bacteria and viruses.
Chilled chickens have a shelf life of one week, said producers.
Shanghai closed down all live poultry stores and markets on April 6 after the H7N9 bird flu broke out.
All live poultry must be slaughtered at designated factories where they are processed into chilled or frozen products for sale at supermarkets.
Due to the bird flu scare, many people shun chicken products. "We saw big demand from both poultry farmers and consumers," said Shao Linchu, deputy director of Shanghai Agricultural Commission.
Shao said Shanghai lost tens of millions of yuan after imposing a ban on live poultry sales. Nationally, the losses were estimated at 35 billion yuan. Shanghai may lift the ban and reopen some live poultry markets in June or July if conditions improve. But new standards will be more rigorous," Shao said.
The city has 461 live poultry markets. The number of retailers is expected to shrink 50 percent to curb the bird flu threat, Shao added. "Shanghai will promote the sales of chilled poultry to phase out live poultry markets."
However, some experts said it would be difficult for local people to change their eating habit in a short time.

 

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