Chicken sales have fallen dramatically even though the H7N9 avian influenza virus has not spread in Taiwan, creating an “unexpected misfortune” for chicken farmers, the Poultry Association of the Republic of China said yesterday.
Association official Lee Ching-kun (李清焜) said chicken sales have been hit hard over concerns that there might be an H7N9 outbreak in Taiwan, plunging 40 to 50 percent last month from April last year.
Even though the only H7N9 case in Taiwan was a man who contracted the disease in China, the news brought “unexpected misfortune” to farmers, Lee said at an event the association held to promote chicken products.
Photo: CNA
“Had there been an outbreak, chicken farmers would have been the first ones to be infected,” Lee said.
Consumers could feel confident when buying locally raised chickens and eggs, he said.
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基), who was invited to the event, said food processing practices in Taiwan, from feeding and slaughtering to shipping, all conform to international sanitary standards.
He would personally guarantee the safety of locally raised chickens, Chen said.
Although the H7N9 virus is not a threat in Taiwan, the Department of Health has advised consumers to maintain good hygiene practices, including washing one’s hands frequently, keeping raw and cooked meat separate and making sure chicken products and eggs are fully cooked before consuming them.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS