US poultry remains safe to eat, according to government authorities.

Companies that account for more than 90 percent of the nearly 10 billion chickens produced in 2005 in the US have signed up for the testing program and said it expects more to follow, according to the National Chicken Council, a trade group that represents producers.

"We just want to assure people of the safety of the food supply," council spokesman Richard Lobb said.

US Chicken Sales Higher, Prices Lower

Consumption of chicken in the US has held steady despite worries about a bird-flu strain that has infected millions of birds throughout Asia and parts of Europe and has killed 74 people.

The average person in the US ate 85 pounds of chicken last year, compared with 84 pounds in 2004, according to the Agriculture Department.

Chicken prices at the grocery store have dropped in recent months, mostly because production is up and exports are down, said David Harvey, a poultry analyst for the department's Economic Research Service.

Chicken Producers Embrace Testing Program In Spite of Cost

The council did not say which companies are participating, although Lobb said, "Practically all the big ones are in it."

Tyson Foods Inc. has more than one-quarter of the market, followed by Pilgrim's Pride Corp., Gold Kist Inc. and Perdue Farms Inc. Tyson has been testing for bird flu and expanded its efforts in the fall, spokesman Gary Mickelson said. The company now tests all of its flocks and conducts 15,000 tests each week, he said. Pilgrim's Pride said Thursday it was joining in the testing program.

Lobb said many companies already are testing ahead of the program's start Jan. 16. The program is voluntary.

Companies will cover the costs; the council said it does not have cost estimates.

Georgia-based Fieldale Farms will spend a "couple hundred thousand dollars a year," on testing, Executive Vice President Tom Hensley said.

"It's a big number to a little chicken company in Georgia, but it's worth every cent," Hensley said. Fieldale started the tests in December.

Tests Expected to Produce Reliable Results

The plan is for 11 birds to be tested from each chicken flock, or farm. The council said the average flock has 55,000 to 60,000 chickens and that there are an estimated 150,000 flocks produced each year. That would mean more than 1.6 million chickens would be tested.

Blood test samples from 11 birds would provide a confidence level of 95 percent of detecting an infection in a flock where 25 percent of birds are infected, Andrew R. Rhorer, a government expert, said. He heads the department's National Poultry Improvement Plan, which focuses on disease prevention.

A consumer group said the testing, although a good first step, should be required of every company that raises chickens.

"For the industry to step up like this and start the testing program is a very important improvement," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food-safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "But it's critical that USDA ensure that all chicken producers are complying with the same requirements."

She urged wider testing of birds, saying "a 99 percent confidence level would be better."

Consumption of US Poultry Remains Safe, Authorities Say

Samples will be collected on farms and tested at state or industry-certified labs.

If testing turns up the most virulent form, or any H5 or H7 strain that can mutate into virulent forms, and results are confirmed by the department's premier lab, in Ames, Iowa, the flock will be destroyed on the farm, Lobb said. None of the birds from the affected farm will enter the food chain, the council said.

The virulent form of bird flu in Asia has not been found in the US and is only now spreading into Eastern Europe. Authorities there say cooking kills the virus. Health officials in the US say it is safe to eat poultry that is properly handled and cooked.