UK households face ‘Christmas dinner being ruined’ amid shortage of staple

Turkey could be at the centre of shortages this Christmas – as a “super strain” bird flu rips through UK farms.UK households face ‘Christmas dinner being ruined’ amid shortage of staple

There are fears Christmas dinner could be ruined by a looming shortage over a household staple. Turkey could be at the centre of shortages this Christmas – as a “super strain” bird flu rips through UK farms.

UK farms have been hit by more than 30 cases since the start of October. Rachel Dobson, managing director of Lynx Purchasing, which supplies food to restaurants, said the industry was facing an “unusually difficult” Christmas.

She said: “Avian flu means there are shortages of supply from both Europe and South America, which supply much of the seasonal demand for turkeys in the UK market.

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“Some suppliers have been reluctant to commit to turkey pricing this year, or even to guarantee supplies at all. At the very least, we’re advising hospitality operators to expect turkey prices to be significantly higher this year.

“Operators may end up receiving fewer turkeys than they ordered, being sent smaller birds, or even being told that no supplies are available.”

Prof Ian Brown, head of avian virology at the Pirbright Institute, told the BBC earlier this month: “Essentially, we’ve got a virus that’s incredibly what we call ‘fit’.

“It’s highly infectious, it’s very well adapted to birds, which makes it almost a super strain.”

It comes as Sainsbury’s revealed it has been forced to reduce its selection of turkey crowns this festive season due to a “supply issue“.

Kate Postance, of Postance Poultry in Tremain, Ceredigion, told the BBC her 500 free-range turkeys and 3,000 chickens were now in “flockdown” to protect them from the disease.

“I’m really worried – if any of our birds contracted it I don’t see a way back for us. I think we live in hope that someone, somewhere, will find a vaccine,” she said.

“But unless something is done, it’s something we’re going to have to live with and hope we don’t succumb to it.”