<B>CAN WE</B> eat local chicken with no risk of catching avian flu? In spite of assurances given by Food and Allied Industries Ltd (FAIL), the question has been a cause for worry since the mysterious death of 38 000 chickens within four days at Trois îlots farm. The farm supplies its products to FAIL through Deep River-Beau-Champ. It has had to stop all operations until further notice.

FAIL has dismissed all possible links with the bird flu that devastated poultry in Asia recently. ?There is nothing in the first tests to indicate that the epidemic is responsible for these deaths,? declares the general manager, Thierry de Spéville. The Health ministry seems to support this theory.

According to the test results received from South Africa, the chickens died of nephretic bronchitis. This disease, the ministry of Agriculture reassures us, cannot affect human health.

The ministry has nevertheless declared Trois Ilots farm a ?restricted area?. Not only does the cause of death remain unknown but the ministry also thinks that the farm has not complied with certain procedures. Consequently, the ministry has made a police statement on the grounds that the farm did not inform the authorities of these deaths.

It was only at the end of last week that Agriculture minister, Nando Bodha, was informed of the problem by the Health ministry. The veterinary authorities assert that the farm purposely hushed up the incident, thus acting in contravention of the Veterinary Act. The latter stipulates that the authorities have to be informed of all animal deaths occurring on a farm.

The director of Trois-îlots explains that he did not realise there was a major problem on the farm since the chickens did not all die at the same time. Abrupt temperature changes have also been brought up to explain the deaths by the farm management. As many birds are confined in a very small area, diseases can spread very easily.

<B>No new deaths</B>

Meanwhile, FAIL is reassuring consumers. It has published a communiqué in which it guarantees that the chickens were destroyed, except for a few that have been refrigerated for laboratory tests.

It is also made clear that the other farms supplying the group are not affected by the problem. The ministries of Health and Agriculture suspect that 12 tons of the chickens from Trois Ilôts have already been put on the market. They could publish a communiqué that will advise the public not to buy the chickens bearing production numbers 2958 and 2959. But FAIL is adamant: chickens on the market are safe for consumption.

It is quite difficult to say, at this stage, whether consumers? fears have been cleared up. As far as FAIL is concerned, however, the problem should be behind them now, as there have not been any new deaths.