Does Bird Flu Follow Jamie Oliver?

By JULIETTE ROSSANT According to the UK's Sunday Herald, there are worse things to face than a chef's fire. Bernard Matthews came under attack from Jamie Oliver over its turkey twizzlers in school meals. Jamie argued that the twizzlers contained 22% fat after cooking, double the standard. Bernard Matthews countered with a new recipe with only 7% after cooking, which sent twizzler sales rocketing. Now, the firm faces an impersonal force of nature: Bird Flu, found in a swan in Cellardyke, Fife, in April 2006. As a result, producers have culled over 400,000 turkeys so far. The British Poultry Council has expected sales of poultry to dip, but so far supermarkets say their sales have suffered no ill effects. Bernard Matthews has stated that none of the affected birds has entered the food chain and so do not pose any risk to consumers. They are working with the UK's Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and other industry bodies to monitor the situation. And they'd better watch closely: Bernard Matthews has 57 farms and produces more than 8 million turkeys per year. Previous articles: Bird Flu: Foie Gras War: Chicago Ban Foie Gras War: Bird Flu! Bird Flu Death Count Passes 50 in Asia Food Vermin -- Bird Flu, Next Course? Jamie Oliver: Top 49 Men 2006: Chef Winners Are British Super Chefs Richer? Jamie Oliver: Junk Food Be Cursed! Jamie Oliver Betters British School Food FOOD PIX: Jamie Oliver Fat Suit Nora Sands: Nora's Dinners Jamie Oliver Signs Sainsbury's Jamie Oliver New Year: School Lunch Jamie Oliver on Vodafone Live! Jamie Oliver: Real Guts Fat Lady Sings Jamie Oliver Jamie Oliver: School Lunch July 4: East Meets West Wall Street Journal: Beef over Chef Sponsorship? Amazon UK's Steamy Xmas Chefs [Chefs & Politics - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Bird Flu, Jamie Oliver --> back to Super Chef