New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued guidelines on safe handling and consumption of meat and poultry eggs in the wake of the avian influenza.
The guidance document, aimed at creating awareness among Food Business Operators (FBOs) and consumers, opines cooking meat and eggs at 74 degree Celsius in order to inactivate the virus. FSSAI also asserted that eating properly cooked meats and eggs is safe even if those foods carried the virus.
The outbreak of Avian Influenza (bird flu) has been confirmed in nine states including Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab for poultry birds till Saturday (January 23). While for crows, migratory and wild birds, the bird flu cases have been confirmed in 12 States (Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, as per the data by Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
To control the virus breakout in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Kerala, the ministry stated that control and containment operations have been kicked off.
