Labelling a frozen turkey as fresh is too dangerous a precedent to set

In a matter of days Gressingham has lost its entire flock of geese to avian flu in what’s set to be the worst-ever outbreak. And it’s not just geese. As we reveal, the turkey flock has been decimated, with predictions in some quarters that as much as 50% of the 4.5 million flock may be lost.

It’s clear urgent action is needed to salvage as much of the flock as possible. As a result, producers are calling for a derogation from Defra to allow for turkeys to be frozen immediately, and then defrosted closer to Christmas, and labelled as ‘fresh’.

It’s an understandable request: producers receive more for fresh turkeys from retailers, as shoppers are prepared to pay retailers a premium for a fresh bird.

And the derogation has come with a number of promises: that this would only be a temporary measure; it would apply only to British poultry for domestic use only; and that labelling can ensure consumers are aware birds were previously frozen.

But there is also a food safety issue here. It’s true other meat proteins like NZ lamb can be frozen and still labelled as fresh meat. But the danger with poultry is greater due to salmonella. And while labels may point out somewhere on the product that it’s previously been frozen, as we all know with labels, there’s a high chance consumers won’t read them, especially if it also says it’s fresh. And the stakes if they don’t are high.

So Defra is right not to be rushing its decision, despite the urgency of the situation. But equally it needs to understand the massive pressure the sector is under, and do more and faster to help producers on the ground with culling, cleaning, disposal and compensation at this tragic and unprecedented time.

And the onus is also on major retailers to support producers, giving them the go-ahead to freeze turkeys but paying the same rate for these turkeys as it would have done if they were fresh. Even in that scenario, producers will already lose money from the birds being smaller. Without support, as one farmer put it, “there will be no turkey or duck industry next Christmas”. And no one wants that.