The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (November 18) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in the District of Rostock, State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the district with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.
A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong imported about 2,500 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 880,000 poultry eggs from Germany in the first nine months of this year, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
"The CFS has contacted the German authorities over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.
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