UK farmers want Hungary bird flu controls checked

LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - British farmers today called for checks on bird flu restrictions in Hungary over concerns a UK outbreak of the virus may be linked to poultry meat imports from the East European country.

The National Farmers' Union said the possible link raised ''very serious questions'' about control measures around bird-flu infected sites in Hungary.

''It would seem clear that control measures have broken down and so it needs an investigation,'' an NFU spokeswoman said.

But she denied media reports the NFU was asking the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for a ban on Hungarian poultry products.

''We are asking Defra to look at import restrictions, but we are not calling for them,'' she said.

Hungarian officials said yesterday they were checking whether there was a link between the two outbreaks, but were sceptical that live British birds could have been contaminated by virus present in processed meat.

Turkey producer Bernard Matthews suspended imports of partially processed turkey meat from Hungary after being hit by bird flu at a farm in Suffolk last week.

The company cut the shipments after the British government concluded on Thursday that the H5N1 virus which caused the outbreak was identical to one found in Hungary in January.

The virus may have been brought to Britain from Hungary in turkey meat, or by contaminated vehicles, Britain's deputy chief veterinarian Fred Landeg said.

But Bernard Matthews says the imported meat came from parts of Hungary far from the regions sealed off after the deadly virus was found in geese.

Britain's food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency, says there is no threat to consumers as long as meat is cooked properly.

It is investigating whether meat contaminated with bird flu has reached shops.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's yesterday reported a 10 percent drop in poultry sales over the previous five days compared with a year ago, although other retailers said they had seen no impact.

The H5N1 virus has spread into the Middle East, Africa and Europe since it re-emerged in Asia in 2003 and although it remains largely an animal disease, it can kill people who come into close contact with infected birds.

REUTERS AB VC1955