From 17 October, all poultry on sale in Italian butchers shops, supermarkets and markets must have a new label, so that the health authorities can trace all birds back to their origin. The label must show the local health authoritys stamp, the eat-by date, the price and weight, the country of origin (IT for Italy) and then a series of codes legible to the authorities to specify the town where the poultry was reared, the individual producer, where the bird was hatched, what food it has been fed and where it was slaughtered and prepared for sale. Italy produces more than enough chickens for home consumption and does not need to import poultry from abroad.

At the same time the health authorities continue to tell the public that avian flu cannot be transmitted by eating poultry.