The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (November 4) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 and H5 avian influenza in Noord-Holland Province in the Netherlands and Slagelse Municipality in Denmark respectively, 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, about 730 tonnes of frozen poultry meat were imported from the Netherlands, while about 1 060 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 1.85 million poultry eggs were imported from Denmark to Hong Kong in the first nine months of this year.
"The CFS has contacted the Dutch and Danish 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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