'My turkey is completely safe' claims Bernard Matthews

13 April 2012

Bernard Matthews stressed "my turkey is completely safe to eat" in adverts taken out in several national newspapers.

The full-page adverts, which are signed by the turkey tycoon, say in the headline: "It's more than 10 years since I appeared in my own advertisements. Now it's time to do so again."

The adverts come in the wake of the bird flu outbreak at Matthews's Norfolk farm.

Mr Matthews, who is in his 70s, says: Because of recent events I realise that you need to hear from me," and goes on to thank the public for their support.

The adverts say: "Can it really be over 10 years? Despite being off the telly for so long, I've never stopped instilling my core values of quality, value and customer care into every Bernard Matthews product.

"But because of recent events I realise that you need to hear from me. Firstly I want to thank you for your invaluable support but also to give you this re-assurance: My turkey is completely safe to eat."

Mr Matthews says the company's products are 100 per cent safe and adds: "It's my name on the pack, but the company is bigger than me."

The adverts continue: "As a result of this scare, our products have gone through the most rigorous independent scientific tests available to confirm they are 100 per cent safe. That is why all leading supermarkets have continued to stock our products and you can continue to enjoy them.

"Our standards of hygiene and bio-security are some of the most stringent in the world. That's why we were able to detect the virus, contain it, then eradicate it within 72 hours.

"But we will not be complacent because bird flu did strike us. Together with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) we're working hard to learn all we can from this episode."

Mr Matthews says that although the firm is an international business, it is still a Norfolk-based British company and proud of it.

"From humble beginnings we now employ 3,500 staff in East Anglia alone," he says.

"Naturally, now that I'm in my 70s I rely on my strong management team, and you can too.

"I can't promise you'll see them in our ads, but I can promise they'll ensure that every pack that bears my name is safe, healthy and delicious. Bootiful in fact."

The adverts come a day after it emerged that hundreds of tons of poultry meat passed through an infected turkey plant during the bird flu outbreak in February.

Nearly 100 tons was delivered to the Bernard Matthews plant in Holton, Suffolk, from Hungary - the country suspected as being the source of the outbreak, figures showed.

A Labour Euro MP said many members of the public would have assumed that the plant had shut down completely during the outbreak and would be surprised by the revelation.

But the Food Standards Agency said none of the meat went near the shed where infected birds were found and it was processed on other areas of the site.

A spokeswoman said there had been no risk to public health.

Public health minister Caroline Flint said 850 tons of turkey and 50 tons of chicken passed through the plant and went into the food chain between February 2 - when the outbreak was confirmed - and February 12, when the all-clear was sounded.

She revealed the figures in a parliamentary written answer following a question from Birmingham Labour MP Roger Godsiff.

"The Food Standards Agency informs me that their inquiries have shown that from the announcement of the confirmation of the outbreak of avian influenza at 10pm on February 2 2007 until the resumption of production on February 12 2007, the total tonnage of raw and processed poultry meat entering the food chain was: turkey 850 tons and chicken 50 tons," she said.

"All this meat was from birds slaughtered prior to February 2 and none of it came from birds from the infected premises."

She said 757 tons of turkey was from the UK and 93 tons from Hungary, and the chicken came from Brazil.

None of the staff involved in processing the meat had handled live birds, she added.

Some 165 workers have been temporarily laid off by the company because of the effect the bird flu outbreak has had on sales of its products. At one stage, sales fell by 40 per cent.

Following an announcement of further lay-offs yesterday, the number of staff laid off from Bernard Matthews has risen to more than 200.

Labour MEP Richard Howitt, who has fought for EU support for workers, said: "I am bitterly disappointed. Bernard Matthews, having initially stated that jobs would be protected, has now held three rounds of lay-offs affecting over 200 workers.

"Bernard Matthews is splashing out £7 million on a new PR and rebranding campaign, and is receiving upwards of a million pounds of European-supported compensation, but yet they are providing derisory lay-off payments to these workers."

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