Attorney Advises Food Industry to Prepare for Avian Flu

NEW YORK - Should bird flu turn up in the U.S., the direct costs of de-population, international trade bans and consumer confidence will be huge, said Jolyda Swaim, an attorney with the agriculture group at Olsson, Frank and Weeda, a Washington-based law firm specializing in regulatory matters related to meat and poultry production. Speaking at Kosherfest here, Swain noted that poultry consumption in Italy dropped 70% in February with the spread of H5N1 and that domestic surveys indicate 46% of consumers would stop eating poultry if high pathogenic bird flu was found in the U.S. Swain said she believes it is only a matter of time before America experiences its next pandemic and that business should be prepared. Companies in the food industry will be critically affected and will need to work with key staff, address employee needs, ensure that staff is trained on how to prevent contracting the illness, make sure key operations are covered three to four layers deep and look at consumer needs, which could mean more online buying and greater demands for delivery, she said. Swain also stated that consumers will cut back on fresh foods to reduce the number of trips to the supermarket as a way to avoid direct human contact. Previously Swain was the corporate food safety director with oversight of meat and poultry plants in the United States and Mexico for Sara Lee. Amy Sung