Import of poultry meat and products from East Gippsland Shire of state of Victoria in Australia suspended

    The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (August 13) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about an outbreak of low pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza in the East Gippsland Shire of the state of Victoria in Australia, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong imported about 170 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, 870 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 1.8 million poultry eggs from Australia in the first six months of this year, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

     "The CFS has contacted the Australian authorities over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.