Import of poultry meat and products from areas in UK, US and Belgium suspended

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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (October 6) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Selby District of North Yorkshire County and Pembrokeshire County of Wales in the United Kingdom (UK), Gooding County of the State of Idaho in the United States (US) and West-Vlaanderen Province in Belgium, 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 880 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 160 000 poultry eggs from the UK, about 7 360 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and 201.48 million poultry eggs from the US and about 3 kilograms of frozen poultry meat from Belgium in the first six months of this year.

"The CFS has contacted the British, American and Belgian 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.

Ends/Thursday, October 6, 2022
Issued at HKT 15:53

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