Handling of bird flu outbreak overblown

Entire poultry industry suffers

The country's poultry industry will continue to stagger in the next few months but that's not just because of the country's first avian flu outbreak. An agricultural lobby group is blaming this possibility to none other than Agriculture Chief Emmanuel Piñol.

Exactly a week after Piñol announced the avian flu outbreak in Pampanga, which is now under state of calamity, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) came forward to say how the government should have been more discreet in dealing with the matter as this could further cause damage to the entire poultry industry and its stakeholders.

Right now, stakeholders and several government officials have been coming up with their own different statements with one goal, which is to calm the public about a possible chicken-to-human transmission of bird flu.

In a press briefing regarding the outbreak this week, Trade Undersecretary Teodoro Pascua decided to eat chicken for lunch so he could show that poultry products being sold in the market are still safe for public consumption.

Two of the country's fast food giants, Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) and McDonald's Philippines have also released their own separate statements since then, basically assuring the public that their products are safe to eat.

"As things are now unfolding, we can only lament the impact of the over reaction, if not over eagerness, of the DA that is now wreaking havoc on the local agriculture and poultry industry. The DA could have silently and more discreetly impose stringent bio-security measures, biosafety and quarantine protocols, hand and hand with all the stakeholders," SINAG said in a statement.

To recall, the avian flu outbreak began in one farm in San Luis, Pampanga and later on spread to six farms. Since April, 37,000