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Smuggled chicken feet may be bird flu risk
11 states warned about Asian product illegally brought into U.S.
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:51 a.m. ET March 4, 2005
CLEVELAND - Health officials are putting eleven states on the lookout for boneless chicken feet -- an Asian delicacy the government says was illegally smuggled into the country.
The government banned imports of birds and poultry products from Asia last year because of bird flu.
Officials are visiting hundreds of Asian restaurants and markets in Ohio today to explain the health risks. Chicken feet have already been seized at stores in Cleveland and Columbus.
The Agriculture Department says a Connecticut-based importer, Food King, distributed chicken feet to 68 stores in eleven states. The company has cooperated with a voluntary recall.
Besides Ohio, affected states are Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
The avian flu has killed people in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia in the past year.
11 states warned about Asian product illegally brought into U.S.
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:51 a.m. ET March 4, 2005
CLEVELAND - Health officials are putting eleven states on the lookout for boneless chicken feet -- an Asian delicacy the government says was illegally smuggled into the country.
The government banned imports of birds and poultry products from Asia last year because of bird flu.
Officials are visiting hundreds of Asian restaurants and markets in Ohio today to explain the health risks. Chicken feet have already been seized at stores in Cleveland and Columbus.
The Agriculture Department says a Connecticut-based importer, Food King, distributed chicken feet to 68 stores in eleven states. The company has cooperated with a voluntary recall.
Besides Ohio, affected states are Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
The avian flu has killed people in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia in the past year.