Import of poultry meat and products from areas in Japan and France suspended

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (January 14) 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 Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan, and a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about an outbreak of low pathogenic H5N3 avian influenza in Canton of Armagnac-Ténarèze, France, 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, in the first nine months of last year, Hong Kong imported about 50 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 4 300 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 200 million poultry eggs from Japan, and about 8 740 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 1.1 million poultry eggs from France.

     "The CFS has contacted the Japanese and French 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.