The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 31) that in view of notifications from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in Pyeongtaek-si and Goyang-si of Gyeonggi-do Province; Iksan-si of Jeollabuk-do Province and Nonsan-si of Chungcheongnam-do Province in Korea; and a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Kherson Oblast in Ukraine, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above-mentioned areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

      A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, in the first nine months of this year, Hong Kong imported about 740 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 8.9 million poultry eggs from Korea; and about 2 160 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 66.6 million poultry eggs from Ukraine.

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

Ends/Thursday, December 31, 2020
Issued at HKT 16:25

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