Import of poultry meat and products from areas in Korea, Netherlands, Poland and UK suspended

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 21) that in view of notifications from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Sejong-si in Korea, Overijssel Province in the Netherlands, InowrocÅ‚awski District of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region and Kolski District of Wielkopolskie Region in Poland and East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire County, Herefordshire County, Allerdale District of Cumbria County and Shropshire District of Shropshire County in the United Kingdom (UK), 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 10 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 280 000 poultry eggs from Korea, about 730 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from the Netherlands, about 4 070 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 24.82 million poultry eggs from Poland, and about 70 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 2 970 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 250 000 poultry eggs from the UK in the first nine months of this year.

     "The CFS has contacted the Korean, Dutch, Polish and British 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.