Fu Yingqing/Shanghai Daily news

Bird flu fears have had a drastic effect on the sales of chicken and other poultry at supermarkets and restaurants around the city in the last month.
Sales of frozen chicken have dropped 42.6 percent since the start of this month at supermarkets, while egg sales had fallen by 24.2 percent, according to a survey conducted by the Shanghai Commercial Information Center.
"I'm selling only one-fourth of the chicken I used to," said Zhu Xiaofen, a merchant at the Xuhui Nanchang Supermarket.
"My chicken has to pass many inspections before arriving here, but the customers are still stepping away. They are too scared to risk their health with a bowl of chicken soup."
Shanghai Xiao Shao Xing, a restaurant famed for its traditional chicken dishes, has been tracking sales on a weekly basis since early last month. The restaurant said it sold 27.9 percent few chicken dishes in the second week of November than it sold in the middle of October.
Other restaurants, including Shanghai Quanjude, a renowned Beijing duck eatery, have seen a similar drop in sales over the last few weeks. Hong Baijin, manager of Shanghai Mei Xin Restaurant (an 80-year-old restaurant that is well-known for its roast chicken and duck), claims the restaurant is selling 30 percent less BBQ chicken than in the past, as customers are ordering more pork and seafood.
"It's been like this for almost a month now," said Hong. "It's going to get worse, I would imagine."
Many city residents say they have stopped eating chicken, or at least cut back significantly, since the outbreak of the avian flu in Anhui Province last month.
"I haven't eaten chicken for more than two months," said Zhang Qiping, a customer at Mei Xin who ordered a main course made from beef. "The flu is keeping me and my family away from it."
Zhou Yizhong, a physician at the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau, emphasizes that chicken from local supermarkets is safe to eat if cooked properly.
"We are taking several measures to prevent the flu in Shanghai," said Zhou.