SHANGHAI: To safeguard food safety, the local government in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, is buying dead poultry from the market to prevent it from being sold to consumers.

The policy, which was introduced as a measure to prevent bird flu in March 2006, is still operative, said Dai Qiping, Party secretary-general of the animal husbandry and veterinary bureau of Hangzhou's Yuhang District.

Dai's bureau is responsible for supervising the East China Poultry Market and Chengbei Poultry Market, the major poultry and livestock suppliers to Hangzhou, a city of nearly 4 million.

The two markets, where more than 40 million chickens, ducks and other poultry are sold annually, accounts for "the lion's share" of the poultry sales in Hangzhou, according to Dai.

Two-thirds of the poultry in the two markets come from other regions of China, which may increase the occurrence of dead poultry due to long transportation time, according to Qiao Lichun, a deputy director of a sub-branch of the bureau.

Last year, Dai's bureau collected 18,000 dead chickens at the two markets. Suppliers are paid 3 yuan per chicken.

This year's numbers are not yet available, Dai said.

A researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said in a report researched over the past two years that the "majority of the deceased chickens (dead on arrival at market) finally make their way into dishes", sparking public anxiety over food safety.

"As far as the supply of poultry and other meat in Hangzhou is concerned, the possibility of dead animals making their way into dishes is non-existent if they come through these two markets," said Qiao.

"After hearing the (CAS) report, knowing what the government is doing eases our anxiety a little bit," said Tang Liang, a resident of Hangzhou.

Hangzhou city government is planning to have all the dead poultry and livestock disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner within four years, its agriculture bureau said.

(China Daily 08/02/2007 page5)