Avian flu hits Ontario turkey farms hard. Is it still safe to eat for your holiday meal?

Some butchers in the London area say the availability of holiday turkeys remains unchanged despite the ongoing avian influenza outbreak in Ontario, which has killed thousands of birds.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Monday detected highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, at an unnamed North Perth farm, affecting about 56,000 turkeys.

Five other outbreaks were declared in Strathroy-Caradoc last month, affecting about 100,000 turkeys, according to the CFIA. All six outbreaks are still considered active.

The birds will be “humanely euthanized,” the CFIA said in a statement Wednesday about the most recent outbreak. The agency has not released the names or exact locations of any affected farms.

Hayter Farms in Dashwood, one of the largest suppliers of turkeys in Ontario, says it has not been directly impacted, but one of its breeding suppliers in Strathroy has, and it could be problematic in the new year.

“Over the next two or three months, we could feel a ripple effect,” said Sean Maguire, CEO of Hayter.

Maguire explained that there are different types of poultry farms, some of which focus on breeding and egg production, and others, like Hayter, raise turkeys for consumption.

Any birds heading to the kitchen table this Christmas may have been in the Hatter’s barn before the avian flu outbreak, which means they’re healthy, Maguire said.

However, Maguire said the farm’s recent culling of turkeys will slow down the industry until enough breeding birds lay eggs again.

“It’s not necessarily the meat supply that’s being affected, it’s replacement birds. We’re getting more turkeys in 12 to 16 weeks from now. We may have a disruption due to a reduction in stock,” he said.

swallow it

According to the CFIA, there is No evidence to suggest That avian influenza can be contracted through consumption of fully cooked poultry or eggs.

The dominant type of avian flu is H5N1, which is highly contagious and can spread rapidly through flocks of domestic poultry.

According to the CFIA, avian flu affects many species of food-producing birds, domesticated birds, wild birds and mammals. On rare occasions, it can cause illness in humans when people come into close contact with infected birds or heavily contaminated environments, the CFIA said.

Pete Charlton, owner of Quality Meats in St. Thomas, said he has received few questions from shoppers about avian flu, but he said people are still ordering turkeys for their holiday tables. They are expecting a shipment of about 200 turkeys to arrive on Friday.

“It’s a small town. We’ve been around so long that we’re really popular and everyone orders it again every year,” said Peter Charlton. He said he hopes customers will buy them all before Christmas.

Other butchers in Ontario agree their business is business as usual, including Western Meats in London.

“We just received delivery from our supplier and everything looks fine,” said owner Jim Chiaros.