Bird flu fears force Waitrose to pull turkeys

Waitrose will not sell organic turkeys this Christmas because of the bird flu outbreak.

The chain has written to 1,300 customers who pre-ordered organic birds offering them a £10 voucher and the chance to switch to free-range.

Waitrose sources organic turkeys from two farms on the Norfolk-Suffolk border where culls were carried out.

A Waitrose spokeswoman said the chain would still stock non-organic free range and Select Farm own label turkeys.

She added: "Waitrose sources all its turkeys from known farms and we are not prepared to compromise those principles by buying turkeys on the open market. Organic turkeys make up a small proportion of our total turkey requirements."

"The two farms we source from were impacted by avian flu."

Many of the customers contacted by Waitrose asked for their £10 gift vouchers to be donated to the affected farmers, she added.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

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