The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (April 19) that in view of a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Hokkaido Prefecture in Japan, and notifications from the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in South Somerset District of Somerset County in the United Kingdom (UK) and Regional District of North Okanagan of Province of British Columbia; Rural Municipality of Loreburn and Rural Municipality of Moose Mountain of Province of Saskatchewan; Regional Municipality of York, Municipality of Chatham-Kent and Township of South Glengarry of Ontario Province; and Wetaskiwin County of Alberta Province in Canada, 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 40 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 3 240 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 286.19 million poultry eggs from Japan; about 90 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 3 770 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 320 000 poultry eggs from the UK; and about 1 020 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat from Canada last year.
"The CFS has contacted the Japanese, British and Canadian 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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