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The Government has reviewed the arrangement for the resumption of live poultry imports from the Mainland on March 26 and considered it satisfactory. The wholesale price of chickens since the resumption has remained stable, a spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said today (March 31).
The spokesman added that the SARG was working jointly with the Mainland authorities to impose stringent control on the registered poultry farms supplying chickens to Hong Kong to ensure the safety and quality of the imported chickens.
"We understand that the Mainland has in the past reduced the number of registered farms from over 300 to over 100 to more effectively deploy their resources to ensure farms are avian flu free. Enforcement has been stepped up and biosecurity measures are maintained to meet with required standards.
The SARG is also maintaining close contact with the relevant Mainland authorities to review the effectiveness of its work, the spokesman said, noting that the Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Mrs Carrie Yau, met with the Director-General of Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Liu Shengli, yesterday.
Mrs Yau would also meet with the head of the Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Zhong Dechang, in mid-April to discuss the arrangement for live poultry supply to Hong Kong.
The Government would continue to strengthen existing measures, in view of the fact that Hong Kong was still in the peak influenza season and human infection cases of H5N1 were found on the Mainland.
These include:
* Live poultry must come from registered farms that are subject to inspection by both Mainland officials and staff of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD);
* All live poultry must be quarantined for five days before export to Hong Kong;
* The Government will take samples for laboratory tests from the live poultry imported to Hong Kong at Man Kam To Control Point and continue to send FEHD staff to visit registered poultry farms on the Mainland;
* The Government will also take samples for testing at wholesale and retail markets.
The spokesman, however, said as the H5N1 virus might be carried by migratory birds or wild birds in the natural environment, there should be no surprise if there were additional cases.
"All parties responsible for gatekeeping work remain vigilant to ensure existing mechanisms to prevent avian flu are in place. We would continue to implement measures to realise the objective of separating humans from poultry and to ensure that all the poultry supplied by the registered farms on the Mainland are safe for consumption," the spokesman said.
Ends/Friday, March 31, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:20
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