Page 5 - National Poultry Newspaper

Map of avian influenza restricted area – Golden Plains Shire.
• One emu farm diag- nosed with low pathogen- ic H7N6 avian influenza.
Update on avian influenza in Victoria
AS at September 24, bird owners in the Gold- en Plains Shire were be- ing urged to continue practising good biosecu- rity as housing restric- tions on domestic birds begin to ease.
one near Bairnsdale and one emu farm near Kerang.
tain avian influenza, re- port sick or dead birds in Golden Plains or near Bairnsdale to the 24-hour Emergency Animal Dis- ease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888. Restricted and control area orders and move- ment permits
ment permits for poultry, poultry products and ve- hicles involved in poultry production within the re- stricted and control areas can be found at agricul ture.vic.gov.au
The housing order in place for the region lapsed at 11.59pm on September 26.
Three different strains of avian influenza were detected:
For advice on a per- mit, view the relevant map and contact the Cus- tomer Contact Centre on 03 4334 2715, seven days between 9am and 5pm.
The housing order in the restricted area of the Golden Plains Shire was extended to Monday Oc- tober 19, acknowledging a cluster of avian influ- enza infected premises there.
• Two turkey farms with low pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza
The Victorian Depart- ment of Health and Hu- man Services confirmed the H7N7, H7N6 and H5N2 strains are not a risk to the public as they rarely affect humans un- less there is direct and close contact with sick birds.
Map of avian influenza restricted area – near Bairnsdale.
Other components, in- cluding the restricted ar- ea and control area, will continue but are always under review.
Agriculture Victoria has scaled up surveil- lance and tracing efforts to determine other at-risk properties and contain the risk, and continues to sample birds throughout the restricted areas.
It is illegal to move these products without a permit.
If you have had con- tact with birds on an af- fected property and you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, call your doctor or the Depart- ment of Health and Hu- man Services on 1300 651 160 for medical ad- vice.
The order directs all poultry owners to keep their birds enclosed.
Restricted areas and control areas are still in place in the Golden Plains Shire near Leth- bridge, near Bairnsdale and near Kerang.
The permit is for buy- ing, selling or moving eggs, manure and chick- ens, whether on the side of the road, from your property, your local store, online such as Gumtree or Facebook, or at mar- kets.
It is a temporary re- quirement designed to minimise the risk of poultry and captive birds from becoming infected with avian influenza.
Good biosecurity prac- tices remain essential to reduce the spread of dis- ease – not only for this outbreak but also for fu- ture occurences. Surveillance
There are no food safe- ty issues identified, and properly cooked chicken meat and eggs are safe to eat.
The housing order is one part of the disease response.
All pigeon races, bird shows and bird sales in the restricted and control areas must be cancelled.
For further information, visit health.vic.gov.au
Avian influenza had been confirmed at four farms near Lethbridge,
To help track and con-
Further information, to view the restricted and control area orders, and to apply online for move-
Cleaning and decon- tamination of these prop- erties has been ongoing.
• Three egg farms with highly pathogenic H7N7 avian influenza
A permit from Agri- culture Victoria is re- quired for the movement of domestic birds, bird products and equipment into, out of or within the restricted or control ar- eas within Golden Plains Shire, near Bairnsdale and near Kerang.
Map of avian influenza restricted area – near Kerang.
Poultry opportunities in China
POULTRY will prob- ably be the largest beneficiary of the African swine fever related drop in pork consumption.
broilers are not yet the major substitute for pork for home cook- ing, though they are an important substitute for pork in business-to- business channels.
They are perceived to offer better taste, dif- ferent texture and bet- ter nutrition than white broilers, and they are popular in both food- service and in-home consumption.
But the situation with poultry is complicated.
White broiler is a pre- ferred protein for con- venience foods, due to its lower cost and easier handling than other meats.
In China, poultry con- sists of white broilers, yellow broilers and wa- terfowls.
Yellow bird consump- tion is well-distributed across home eating and restaurants, with lim- ited volumes going to group dining.
White broiler – be- ing the most consumed poultry species – has been perceived as the major substitute for pork due to its lower cost and easier cooking characteristics.
In convenience stores, white broiler is again one of the major protein ingredients for popu- lar foods, such as meal kits, wrapped pancakes and salads.
COVID-19 brought a greater impact to the yellow bird markets in the first half of 2020, as live bird markets were closed across the country.
The correlation be- tween pork and poultry prices has been chang- ing over different pe- riods, in response to market conditions.
In addition, white broiler has a rising share in processed meat, as it is not only processed into chicken products, but is also in- creasingly used as an ingredient in sausages and snack foods.
Furthermore, the government has de- cided it will perma- nently close most of the live bird markets over coming years.
From February 2020, COVID-19 outbreaks hit China’s market and impacted foodservice, wet markets and group dining seriously, but benefited modern re- tailing.
While white broiler is not yet the major pro- tein for home cooking, it is expected to pen- etrate the market gradu- ally.
This will reshape the whole supply chain – from genetics to mar- keting – as this policy forces the industry to move to an industrial- ised production system and supply chain.
Coincidentally, white broilers have been mainly distributed to markets that were hit by COVID-19 and are less important in mod- ern retailing.
Yellow bird is quite different from white broilers – based on lo- cal breeds, they have long established a solid position in the Chinese diet.
It will take time for consumers to adapt to the new products and new marketplaces to come.
In other words, white
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National Poultry Newspaper, October 2020 – Page 5