AP FILE PHOTO
Fast-food chain giants and chicken producers are assuring the public that their products are safe to eat despite the first bird flu outbreak in the country.
Jollibee Foods Corporation and McDonald’s Philippines issued statements on Monday saying their products were not affected by the avian flu incident in the town of San Luis in Pampanga province.
San Miguel Purefoods, Max’s Group and Bounty Agro Ventures, which operates Chooks-to-Go and Uling Roasters, also said their products were free from bird flu.
Jollibee Foods Corp., the parent company of Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking, Greenwich, and Burger King Philippines, said its poultry suppliers tested negative of the disease.
McDonald’s Philippines, meanwhile, said they were compliant with international and local food safety standards.
Malacañang announced on Sunday that it was closely monitoring the quality and price of poultry products in the market following the discovery of Type A subtype H5 avian influenza in a poultry farm in Barangay San Agustin in San Luis, Pampanga.
“We are closely watching the quality and the price of poultry products in the markets as the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced the culling of thousands of chicken in Pampanga,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
READ: Gov’t monitoring poultry products after Pampanga bird flu outbreak
In the meantime, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) facilitated the culling of some 16,700 fowls to prevent the spread of the disease. CBB