The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (November 17) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Roma Province of the Lazio Region in Italy, and a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, 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 770 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 77 000 poultry eggs from Italy, and about 40 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 2 530 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 210.28 million poultry eggs from Japan in the first nine months of this year.
"The CFS has contacted the Italian and Japanese 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.
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