Import of poultry meat and products from areas in France, Canada and Spain suspended
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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (September 5) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Ille-et-Vilaine Department in France, County of Athabasca No. 12 of Alberta Province in Canada, and Badajoz Province of Extremadura in Spain, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above-mentioned areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.
A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 540 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 25 000 poultry eggs from France, about 60 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Canada, and about 80 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 32 000 poultry eggs from Spain in the first six months of this year.
”The CFS has contacted the French, Canadian and Spanish authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the spokesman said.