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The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) reached a consensus with the poultry trade this (February 5) evening to designate this Friday (February 8) as an extra rest day for all market stalls and fresh provision shops selling live poultry.

"As dead chickens were found in individual poultry stalls in the past few days, the trade today voluntarily proposed to designate an extra rest day as soon as possible to restore public confidence in eating chickens,".said a spokesman for the FEHD.

"This suggestion exactly met the mind of the Government," the spokesman noted.

"We met representatives of the trade this evening and both sides agreed to make this Friday a rest day so that all market poultry stalls and fresh provision shops could be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected.

"We immediately contacted the relevant Mainland authorities which also rendered full support to cease exporting live chickens to Hong Kong for two days starting tomorrow (February 6).

"All poultry retail outlets will resume the sale of live chickens on Saturday (February 9)," the spokesman said.

End/Tuesday, February 5, 2002

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