CHICAGO, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Sales of turkey are up 20 percent in the past year in the United States, driven by increasing sales of turkey sausage and similar products.
The Chicago Tribune reports that consumers' desire for low-fat protein appears to be outweighing fears of avian influenza.
"We're seeing fewer opportunities for the whole bird except for the family feast, but everyday eating of turkey is what is driving sales," Sherrie Rosenblatt, a spokeswoman for the National Turkey Federation, told the newspaper. "People are just eating turkey a lot more often."
A spokeswoman for the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line said that few of the thousands of callers have asked about bird flu, although a few want to know where Butterball turkeys are raised.
The H5N1 virus, which has caused a deadly strain of bird flu in Southeast Asia and spread to China, Turkey and Romania, has not been detected in the United States.
