Import of poultry meat and products from Veneto and Lombardy regions in Italy suspended

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (June 24) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of low pathogenic H7N1 avian influenza in the Veneto region of the Province of Treviso and low pathogenic H5N3 avian influenza in the Lombardy region of the Province of Mantua in Italy, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products, including poultry eggs, from the above areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong imported about 100 kilograms of chilled poultry meat, 140 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 6 000 poultry eggs from Italy in the first three months of this year, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

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