Hong Kong bans import of poultry meat and products from Czech Republic, Croatia and areas in Poland, France and the UK

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     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (January 11) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in Miedzyrzecki, Myslenicki and Namyslowski Districts of Poland, Deux-Sèvres Department of France, the Czech Republic and Croatia, and in view of notifications from the UK authorities about outbreaks of H5N8 avian influenza in North Yorkshire County and Carmarthenshire County of the UK, the CFS has banned the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that in the first 11 months of last year, Hong Kong imported about 18 700 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 4.8 million poultry eggs from Poland, about 14 000 tonnes of frozen and chilled poultry meat and 17.4 million poultry eggs from France, and about 14 500 tonnes of frozen and chilled poultry meat and 660 000 poultry eggs from the UK.

     Since Hong Kong has not established any protocol with the Czech Republic and Croatia for imports of poultry meat and eggs, there is no import of such commodities from the Czech Republic and Croatia.

     "The CFS has contacted the Polish, French, Czech, Croatian and UK authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on avian influenza outbreaks in the countries concerned. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

Ends/Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Issued at HKT 18:48

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