Import of poultry meat and products from areas in Italy, UK, France and Poland suspended

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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) and the General Veterinary Inspectorate of Poland about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Rovigo Province of Veneto Region in Italy, Ballinderry Townland of Londonderry County in the United Kingdom (UK), Pyrénées-Atlantiques Department in France and Kępiński District and Ostrowski District of Wielkopolskie Region in Poland, 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, Hong Kong imported about 770 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 77 000 poultry eggs from Italy; about 70 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 2 970 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 250 000 poultry eggs from the UK; about 40 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 3 920 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 240 000 poultry eggs from France; and about 4 070 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 24.82 million poultry eggs from Poland in the first nine months of this year.

"The CFS has contacted the Italian, British, French and Polish 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 30, 2021
Issued at HKT 17:10

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