Hong Kong bans import of poultry meat and products from Slovakia and areas in the Netherlands, Poland and Hungary

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     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 30) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in Gelderland and Zuid-Holland Provinces of the Netherlands, Pinczow Municipality of Poland and Hajdu-Bihar County of Hungary, and an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Slovakia, it has banned 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 in the first 11 months of this year, Hong Kong imported about 8 500 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 7.4 million poultry eggs from the Netherlands, about 18 700 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 4.8 million poultry eggs from Poland, and about 4 000 tonnes of frozen and chilled poultry meat from Hungary. Since Hong Kong has not established any protocol with Slovakia for imports of poultry meat and eggs, there is no import of such commodities from Slovakia.

     "The CFS has contacted the Dutch, Polish, Hungarian and Slovakian authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on avian influenza outbreaks in the countries concerned. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

Ends/Friday, December 30, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:58

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