The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (January 5) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea respectively about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in Nordwestmecklenburg District and Vorpommern-Greifswald District, State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany; as well as Gokseong-gun and Muan-gun of Jeollanam-do Province and Buan-gun of Jeollabuk-do Province in Korea, 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 last year, Hong Kong imported about 2 500 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 880 000 poultry eggs from Germany; and about 740 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 8.9 million poultry eggs from Korea.

     "The CFS has contacted the German and Korean 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/Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Issued at HKT 15:20

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