Avian flu hit Ontario turkey farms hard. Is it still safe to eat for your holiday meal?

Some London-area butchers say the availability of holiday turkeys is unchanged, despite an ongoing avian influenza outbreak in Ontario that’s seen tens of thousands of birds culled.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) detected highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, at an unidentified North Perth farm on Monday, affecting around 56,000 turkeys.

Five other outbreaks were declared last month in Strathroy-Caradoc, affecting close to 100,000 turkeys, according to the CFIA. All six outbreaks are still considered active.

The birds will be “humanely depopulated,” the CFIA said in a statement Wednesday about the most recent outbreak. The agency has not released the names or exact locations of any of the affected farms. 

One of the largest suppliers of turkeys in Ontario, Hayter’s Farm in Dashwood, says it is not directly impacted, but one of its breeding suppliers in Strathroy is, and that could be problematic in the new year.

“Over the next two or three months, we may feel a ripple effect,” Hayter’s CEO Sean Maguire said.

Maguire explained that there are different types of poultry farms with some focused on breeding and egg production, and others, like Hayter’s, raising the turkeys for consumption.

Any birds going on kitchen tables this Christmas would have already been at the Hayter’s barn before the avian flu outbreak, Maguire said, meaning they are healthy.

However, Maguire said the recent turkey culls at the farm will slow down the industry until there are enough breeding birds producing eggs again.

“The meat supply isn’t necessarily affected, it’s the replacement birds. We’re getting more turkeys in 12 to 16 weeks from now. We might have a disruption because of that loss of stock,” he said. 

Gobble it up

According to the CFIA, there is no evidence to suggest that avian influenza can be contracted through the consumption of fully cooked poultry or eggs.

The dominant strain of avian flu circulating is H5N1, which is highly-contagious and can spread rapidly through a flock of domestic poultry.

Avian flu affects several species of food-producing birds, pet birds, wild birds, and mammals, according to the CFIA. On rare occasions, it can cause disease in humans when people come in close contact with infected birds or heavily contaminated environments, CFIA said.

The owner of Pete Charlton’s Quality Meats in St. Thomas said he’s received a few questions from shoppers about avian flu, but said people are still ordering turkeys for their holiday tables. He’s expecting a shipment of about 200 turkeys on Friday. 

“It’s a small town. We’re really well-known from being around so long and everybody just orders it again every year,” said Peter Charlton, adding that he expects customers to pick them all up ahead of Christmas. 

Other Ontario butchers agree it’s business as usual, including at Western Meats in London.

“We’ve just had our deliveries from our supplier and everything seems to be OK,” owner Jim Chioros said.