Island food supplies are as safe as they have ever been, according to wholesaler Butterfield and Vallis which has recently had cause to respond to a number of possible health threats.

And the Department of Agriculture and Fish is stressing that the rapidly spreading outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in the UK poses no threat to human health and the public should not panic.

However, some grocers are reporting that there continues to be misunderstanding and misinformation amongst the public about the safety of meats.

Butterfield and Vallis general manager Ed Sousa told The Royal Gazette it is still too early to tell whether meat sales had been affected by these recent news items. "But we'd be surprised if they haven't been given recent news coverage,'' he said.

Three weeks ago, concerns arose over the safety of tins of Brazilian corned beef being sold locally after Canada and the US banned Brazilian beef products. No new imports of the products could come to the Island until the US lifted the ban as Brazilian corned beef is transhipped through that country.

The next week certain cooked Tyson chicken products had to be recalled as a result of possibly being undercooked.

Then the still-spreading foot and mouth disease (FMD) epidemic in the UK lead the Island to ban imports of UK pork and lamb. All three events affected the wholesaler.

"We've certainly had an unusual sequence of events,'' said Mr. Sousa. "The one thing for sure is that the risk of contaminated foods getting to Bermuda remains minimal.'' But Mr. Sousa said he has been disappointed with media coverage of these events which he feels unduly frightened the public.

"We said from the beginning the Brazilian beef ban was political,'' he said.

"There was never a case of BSE in Brazil.'' Canada and the United Stated lifted the ban last Friday -- which was the deadline Brazil had given Canada to lift the ban or face a major trade war.

Although, salmonella poisoning is one of the most serious and common conditions that can affect people who consume undercooked chicken, the Bermuda Health Department told The Royal Gazette at the time of the Tyson recall, Mr.

Sousa pointed out: "There were no reported cases of salmonella.'' "The situation in England is real,'' he said, but it is not a threat to human health and Bermuda has put protective measures in place to prevent FMD spreading to its animals stocks.

"I don't mean to say the news media shouldn't be vigilant but we are somewhat insulated here in Bermuda,'' he said.

Mr. Sousa said that some consumers were still expressing concerns about the beef, lamb and pork on sale now.

These concerns are unwarranted according to Mr. Sousa. He pointed out that B&V are now importing lamb from New Zealand and the United States where there are no reports of FMD and fresh beef on sale is primarily from the United States.

Grocers who spoke to The Royal Gazette said that they had not noticed a decline in meat sales, although some were getting questions from concerned consumers.

"We get questions but our butchers are well educated and have been able to to respond to them,'' said Will Cox of Miles Market.