MANILA - A simple check of the skin of raw chicken can help determine whether or not the bird was stricken with avian flu, poultry producer Bounty Agro Ventures Inc said Tuesday.

The skin of healthy chicken is white, while that of infected poultry has dark marks, Bounty Agro Ventures President Ronald Mascariñas told ANC's Early Edition.

Bounty Agro Ventures, which supplies fresh chicken to supermarkets and operates the Chooks-to-Go chain of take-out roasted chicken, had assured consumers of the safety of its products.

"Healthy chicken will have really white skin," Mascariñas told ANC's Early Edition.

On possibly infected chicken, he said there will be "a lot of black marks, as if nabugbog (beaten up)."

"We do routine testing for all possible diseases and none of our farms turned out positive as of this day," he said.

Farm personnel are required to change their clothes before entering the facility. Veterinarians also visit farms daily, he said.