The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (May 23) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in County of Two Hills No. 21 of Alberta Province and Rural Municipality of Baildon No. 131 of Saskatchewan Province in Canada, and Weld County of the State of Colorado and Muskegon County of the State of Michigan in the United States (US), 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 4 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Canada and about 3 640 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 135.82 million poultry eggs from the US in the first three months of this year.
"The CFS has contacted the Canadian and American 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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