Sainsbury

My local Sainsbury started selling fresh turkeys today, so how on earth they conclude this years fresh turkey sales are up 25% year on year, is beyond me.



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LONDON (Reuters) - Sales of turkeys are strong in supermarkets, despite concerns over bird flu, retailers said on Tuesday.

Sainsbury's reported a 25 percent year-on-year rise in the number of fresh turkey sales.

Tesco, the country's biggest retailer, said sales of fresh turkeys had been strong since they went on sale on Monday.

"We have seen no impact from bird flu fears," a Tesco spokeswoman said. "Sales are strong as expected."

The spokeswoman said no turkey sales data was available yet.

Peter Bradnock, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, said bird flu concerns might even have prompted consumers to buy their festive bird early.

"If anything, people were concerned that if we got avian flu then there wouldn't be any turkey to go around," Bradnock said.

Scientists fear the H5N1 bird flu virus could mutate into a strain capable of moving between humans, millions of people.

More than 70 people have died of bird flu in Asia since the virus swept through much of the region in late 2003, almost all of them from direct contact with infected foul.