Bernand Matthews says bird flu scare not his fault

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) Bernard Matthews, whose poultry firm of the same name is at the heart of a bird flu outbreak in Britain, said he was sorry for the scare but insisted it was not his company's fault.

In an emotional article published today in the Daily Mirror tabloid, he also said Bernard Matthews Plc had not imported turkey from restricted areas in Hungary -- another country where the H5N1 bird flu virus has been found.

''I am sorry for any confusion but this has not been of our making,'' Matthews said. ''As a company who take these matters extremely seriously, I am confident all proper procedures were followed and we responded accordingly in good time.

Bernard Matthews reopened a slaughterhouse this week in eastern England, near to a famr where 160,000 turkeys had been destroyed after the outbreak earlier in the month.

Britain and Hungary have been arguing over the likely source of the contamination, with British scientists saying they found a direct link between outbreaks in the two countries and the most likely transmission route was from poultry to poultry.

But Budapest says there is no evidence so far that poultry from Hungary could have transmitted the virus to Britain.

Matthews, for his part, said any link to his business in Hungary was being thoroughly investigated.

''I want to stress there haven't been any reported incidents of avian flu on any of our farms in Hungary. And we know for sure that we have not imported any turkey meat originating from Hungarian farms within the restriction zones,'' he said.

Matthews continued: ''I want also to assure you that there's been absolutely no cover-up at our end.'' He tried to reassure consumers that produce from Bernard Matthews, Europe's largest turkey producer, was safe to eat.

''Let me be absolutely clear -- it's my name on the packet and I wouldn't let any food go out to the shelves if I thought there was anything wrong with it,'' Matthews said.

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

REUTERS BDP PM1054