The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (January 19) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the General Veterinary Inspectorate of Poland and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Jhabua District of Madhya Pradesh State and Parbhani District of Maharashtra State of India and in Soc Trang Province, Bac Lieu Province, Tien Giang Province and Long An Province of Vietnam; an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Inowrocławski District of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region of Poland; and outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in Krasnodarskiy Kray of Russia and Hadong-gun of Gyeongsangnam-do Province, Gimje-si of Jeollabuk-do Province and Boseong-gun of Jeollanam-do Province of 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 Hong Kong has currently established protocols with India and Vietnam for the import of poultry eggs but not for poultry meat, while a protocol has been established with Russia for the import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs. According to the Census and Statistics Department, in the first nine months of last year, Hong Kong imported about 3.25 million poultry eggs from Vietnam, but no eggs from India; about 142 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Russia; about 9,900 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 21.32 million poultry eggs from Poland; and about 740 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 8.9 million poultry eggs from Korea.
    
     "The CFS has contacted the Indian, Vietnamese, Russian, Polish 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 19, 2021
Issued at HKT 18:22

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