Springdale, Ark. – April 15, 2015 – U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed that a flock of turkeys on a farm in Iowa that we contract with has been diagnosed with a form of high pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza. The farm has been quarantined and we will not process any flocks from it that have been diagnosed with high pathogenic avian influenza. This does not affect our chicken operations.

There’s no evidence to suggest that any form of avian influenza can be transmitted to humans from properly cooked poultry. According to the World Health Organization and the CDC, properly cooked poultry (minimum of 165 degrees with proper hygiene) is perfectly safe to eat.

Farms raising poultry owned by Tyson Foods are required to have biosecurity measures in place designed to protect birds from disease, including avian influenza. We test all Tyson-owned birds and any flocks that we purchase from third parties for processing at our plants for the virus before those birds leave the farm, and we know the results before birds are processed.

Media Contact:

Worth Sparkman, worth.sparkman@tyson.com or 479-290-6358

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